Gabriel

The Doirons knew how to throw a party, that's for sure. Dozens of cars lined the dirt road that led to the farmhouse. This was a typical scene on holidays.

It wasn't just New Year's Eve, but Juniper's 27th birthday at 11:59. He loved telling the story of when he was born, and I loved hearing it even if I'd heard it a hundred times.

I wondered how much information Juniper shared with his family. Did they know the reasons for our separation? I didn't know how they'd react to me showing up.

Dressed in a sparkly silver sleeveless dress and a New Year's party hat, Halina opened the door, holding a pink cosmo cocktail. 1980s music blared, nearly drowning out the chatter and laughter. Instead of closing the door on my face, she hugged me. "It's so good to see you," she said. "Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year," I said. "Sorry to crash the party."

"It's okay. Come in. Juni's around here somewhere. Dad invited the whole town and they all showed up. Juni's gonna be so happy to see you."

Halina led me to Juniper who stood in the back of the room, chatting with other party-goers, people I recognized but couldn't remember their names. He held a half-empty martini glass, leaning against the wall, telling a story to his captive audience. Halina tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"Guess who I found at the door?" Halina said to Juniper. He turned to her and then to me. He abruptly stopped talking as his eyes locked with mine. His lips turned into a smile, a smile I hadn't seen in a long time. His entire face lit up when he smiled.

"Happy New Year," I said. "And happy birthday."

"It's not his birthday until 11:59," Halina said.

Juniper walked to me, popping a rainbow party noise maker blower in his mouth. As he stood in front of me, he blew it, hitting me in my nose.

"That's real mature," I said, fighting back a laugh.

As he went to do it again, I snatched it from him and kissed his mouth instead. He returned my kiss while still holding his martini. It was a much needed kiss.

"Mmm... you smell good," he said, burying his face in my neck.

"I've been in a car for ten hours. How can I smell good?"

"I could eat you up," he said, bursting into a fit of giggles, nearly spilling the rest of his espresso martini. "This is a fucking awesome surprise. This a fucking good martini, too."

"How many espresso martinis have you had?" I asked as Juniper fell limp in my arms.

"I dunno. A few... and a couple of glasses of wine, too. I think Dad's getting the champagne ready."

"I think you've had enough," I said, taking the martini from him. I finished it off.

"Oh, shit. Now I need another one," Juniper said, hanging on to my arm.

"I don't think you do."

"Wha... what... what are you doing here... here?"

"I'd never miss your birthday. Can we go somewhere to talk?"

He nodded, grabbing a bottle of wine on the way out the back door. We passed people on the deck, everyone tipsy and having a great time. Juniper laughed at himself as he lost his balance, tripped, and fell off the deck. "Oops," he laughed, picking himself up. "I think I've had too much to drink."

"I think so, too. I'll take that," I said, taking the bottle of wine from him. I took a swig from it.

Juniper walked me to the barn, talking incessantly about his students, his disappointment with the lack of snow, and deciding whether or not he wanted to go camping next weekend. Nothing he said had anything to do with us. It was like I hadn't been gone for the past month.

"Juni, could you please stop talking for a second and let me speak?"

"Sorry," he said as we entered the barn, the only light coming from Juniper's phone. "I'm talking too much. Sorry. I'm ready to listen. I'm glad you're here, that's all."

As he wavered back and forth, I held him by his shoulders, steadying him. "Maybe I've said it before, but I can't say it enough. You're the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, and I'm sorry for being such a dick and shutting you out. I'm sorry for making a bunch of assumptions about you. Most of all, I'm sorry I didn't confide in you. I wished I had because I'd want you to confide in me if you were having a hard time. People make mistakes. I make a lot of them. Nobody's ever cared for me the way you do. Could you ever forgive me? I don't want to live without you. You make my life interesting."

He nodded, hugging me. "Yeah, I forgive you," he said.

"I'm just scared," I said.

"Yeah, I know. I'd be scared, too." Slowly, he pulled away from me. "Is this my shirt?"

"Yeah. I packed some of your clothes by accident." I wore one of his flannel shirts that was slightly too big for me, but it was perfect for when I wanted to dress in layers. "Maybe we should do this in the cabin," I said as he unbuttoned the shirt. He shut me up, kissing me on my mouth, shrugging the shirt off my shoulders.

"I've been so horny," he said, sliding his hands up my t-shirt, not responding to my comment. I laughed as he squeezed my nipples.

"I promise you can do whatever you want with me in the cabin."

Again, he didn't listen, getting down on his knees. Looking up at me, he tugged down my joggers and underwear, just enough to expose me. I couldn't say no to him. His lips and tongue were warm and moist and I welcomed them.

"You don't have to do this," I said, but didn't resist. "I thought we were going to talk, but maybe we can talk later... Oh, Juni... You're so good at this." I grasped the back of his hair as he sucked and licked, not what I was expecting so soon after my arrival. He moaned, enjoying it as much as I did. He reached for my waist and pulled me down to the ground with him.

"I always wanted to fuck in the barn," he said, standing up to remove his jeans. He kicked off his underwear, nearly falling over. I jumped to my feet, catching him just in time.

"I'm not gonna fuck in a barn," I said, as much as I wanted him. "Let's go to the cabin. Sandy's jealous and staring at us."

"You're full of shit," he said, gathering up his clothes in disappointment. "Sandy's a horse. She doesn't care."

"Let's get outta here. I promise I'll do whatever you want in bed."

"You better."

Juniper gathered his clothes and took off, running naked to the cabin. I trailed behind him, barely able to keep up. He was fast, demonstrating both an eagerness and a desperation. By the time I got to the bedroom, he was sprawled out on his back on the bed. I noticed lube and leather cuffs on top of the nightstand, ready and waiting. His eyes followed me as I approached him, his hand creeping down his torso. Just as he was about to touch himself, I pounced on the bed, clutching his wrist, bringing his arm over his head. I did the same with his other arm.

"Maybe you should go to sleep," I said.

"I'm not tired. I'm so fucking turned on. Take off your clothes and tie me up. Be a good boy and fuck me because you said you'd do anything, remember?"

"I could really use a shower," I half-joked. I needed a shower, but I planned on taking one later. Pleasuring Juniper took precedence.

"We'll take one later."

Before undressing, I cuffed his wrists to the bed posts. He watched me undress, his chest and stomach heaving in and out. Kneeling between his legs, I kissed his mouth, running my fingers up his sides and to his armpits. He moaned, sucking my bottom lip as my body rubbed against his. He tugged at the cuffs as I planted kisses all over his chest and stomach, down to his dick. I moaned as I sucked each ball while stroking him. His body squirmed, his ass lifting off the bed as I took his dick in my mouth.

It was good to be back home.

I reached for the lube and lathered my dick while still pleasuring Juniper. "Gabriel, don't leave again," he said. "It was the worst month of my life."

"I don't plan on leaving," I said, hovering over him. Eye to eye with him, I made my way inside him. I held his legs, thrusting slow and hard. He moaned, biting his bottom lip, pulling and tugging at the cuffs. They'd probably leave marks again, but he didn't want me to release them.

"Harder," he said.

I complied with his request, sucking on his neck at the same time. The harder I thrust, the louder he moaned. I wrapped my hand around his dick, jerking him off.

"Oh, fuck, Gabriel, I'm gonna come," he said. He cried out, shooting his load in my hand. I kissed his mouth as his body convulsed against mine. I thrust hard one last time, finishing inside him. I cupped his chin in my palms, devouring him in hungry kisses. "Untie me," he said in between kisses.

As soon as I released his wrists, he brought his arms around me. "Thanks for coming early."

"Happy birthday, Juni." With my arms tightly around him, I kissed the side of his head as he ran his hand up and down my forearm. "I got you something. Do you want it now or do you want to wait until morning?"

" Are you kidding? I don't wanna wait. I love presents. Go get it."

I got out of bed and retrieved his present from my coat pocket. I planned on waiting to give the ring to Juniper at a different time, figuring I needed to regain his trust. I just hoped he wouldn't be disappointed with the birthday present I got him. Sitting beside him, I handed the wrapped rectangular present to him.

"I hope you like it," I said, worried he'd hate it. My thoughts got away from me, to the point I was afraid he'd be utterly disappointed and end up kicking me out of the cabin and never want to see me again. My mind always turned to the worst case scenario. "If you don't like it, we can--"

"Ssh," he said, unwrapping the present. He opened the box and stared at the gold necklace, tracing the pendant with his finger. "Is this a Jewish symbol?" he asked.

"It's Hebrew for l'chaim. It symbolizes the value of life and hope."

"I've never seen a stone like this before," he said, examining it. "Is it emerald? No, emerald is green. This is like a blue-green. It's interesting... it's beautiful."

"It's Eilat stone... Israel's national stone. It's also known as the King Solomon Stone. It's supposed to have powerful spiritual energies that stimulate loving feelings and transform negativity into positivity. L'chaim... to life," I said, clasping the necklace around his neck.

"I love how much your religion and culture mean to you."

"I apologize if I overdue it."

"Don't apologize," he said, looking down at the pendant. "It's very cool. I've never worn a necklace before. Thank you. Can I ask you something?" As usual, he didn't wait for me to respond. "Do you ever wish I was Jewish?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Do you?"

"No, Juni. I would never change you."

"Would you love me more if I converted?"

"Stop it, Juni. I love you just the way you are. I wouldn't change you for anything. Thanks for taking me back. I just hope you don't change your mind by morning."

"I made up my mind weeks ago that I'd take you back. My life is so boring without you."

We lay on our sides, face to face.

"It's gonna be okay," he said as I combed my fingers through his knotted hair. He yawned, resting his head on my shoulder. His breathing grew heavy, his body warm and relaxed against mine, his arms around me.

"Happy birthday, Juni," I said, stroking his back. He grunted, rolling over to sleep on his preferred side. He reached for my hand and brought my arm around him. This was where I belonged.