If you are under 18 years of age, this is not for you.
If you are offended by male/male relationships, then do not read this work.
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
This is a copyrighted work of fiction. All right reserved.
You only get one body, protect yourself and practice safe sex.
To my editor Colandra, thank you so much for helping me with my first story! I truly appreciate all the time and effort you put in to help Paul and Derek come alive. I hope you enjoyed getting to know them.
To my readers, thank you so much for going on this journey with me. I really appreciated all the comments that you give me, they help me along. This is the conclusion of Paul and Derek's story. As of now, I don't have any plans to expand on Love Unexpected. (I do reserve the right to change my mind, after all, it is a woman's prerogative.)
Please continue to watch for new stories. I am planning to branch into fantasy/adventure next.
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Paul drove as Derek gave him directions to their destination. Paul knew the area, but he had never been to this bar. Derek told him where to park, and they exited the truck and walked to a back entrance. Paul followed Derek, who moved ahead and was calling out a greeting to a group of five people standing at the back door. From the way they were dressed, Paul knew that they must be the band performing. Tight pants, open shirts, shiny fabric, spiked hair, piercings, and eyeliner were everywhere he looked.
Paul's eyes were drawn to one guy in particular. He stood out even among all the dramatic styles. Paul couldn't help but notice how extraordinarily good looking the guy was. He was a bit shorter than Paul, and had a fairly muscular build. Unlike the others, his chocolate colored hair wasn't dyed, and it fell in perfect loose ringlets past his shoulders. His dark rimmed green eyes were so vivid that Paul could see them even from this distance. Paul suddenly felt like an ogre being in such close proximity with him.
"All right! You made it!" Pretty Boy was saying to Derek. Paul didn't like it when the speaker pulled Derek into a big hug. "We weren't sure if you'd be up for tonight, since you had a rough week and all." Paul felt himself scowling and tried to control himself; he didn't want to make a bad impression.
"I'm fine," Derek pulled away from the hug and turned to smile at Paul. "Besides, there's someone I wanted you guys to meet." Paul felt himself being scrutinized, especially by Pretty Boy. He didn't care for it. He took the hand that Derek held out to him. When Derek smiled at Paul, he felt himself calm down a bit. Derek turned back to the group.
"This is Paul, my boyfriend."
"Nice to meet you," Paul said to the group.
"Damn, they know how to grow them where you come from," Pretty Boy said. "I'm Chris, it's nice to meet you."
Paul shook the offered hand and was introduced to the rest of the band. When they began to move inside, Paul noticed Chris put his arm around Derek and whisper something in his ear. Derek was blushing and speaking back in hushed tones, Chris threw back his head and laughed. He looked Paul right in the eye before kissing Derek's cheek. It was a good thing Derek had Paul's hand and was pulling him towards a table near the stage, because Paul was seeing red.
Paul tried to talk to Derek once they were seated, but it was so loud it was hard to hear each other. Paul really wanted to ask Derek about Chris, but he gave up because he didn't like screaming in Derek's ear. Paul began to calm down when Derek scooted his chair as close to Paul as possible, and snuggled up to him. Paul sighed and put his arm around Derek. By the time the band took the stage, Paul felt almost completely calm.
By the end of the first set, Paul was back to being agitated. The band was good. Really good. Chris had an amazing voice, and his fingers moved on his guitar gracefully. He moved around the stage like sex on legs. Paul had never felt more insecure in his life as he did when Derek sang along and cheered Chris's name between songs. At the end of the first set, Paul excused himself and found the bathroom. When he came back to the table, Chris was sitting next to Derek again, and had his arm around Derek's shoulders. He was in Paul's seat. Paul sat back down in another chair, forcing himself to breathe deep. As soon as he sat back down, Derek let him know he was going to the bathroom, too.
Paul was left alone with a smirking Chris. He sat silently, not really wanting to engage in conversation with his obvious competition, even though the music wasn't as loud now. It seemed he wasn't going to be left in peace.
"So," Chris started, "What has Derek said about me?" Chris was still smirking as he leaned back his chair and ran his hand through his silken curls.
"Nothing," Paul said in a clipped tone.
"Oh, that's too bad. He told me all about you. How you rescued him, how sweet you are, how well you treat him." Chris rocked his chair back to sit on all four legs, moving closer to Paul before adding, "There's one thing that I just don't believe though."
Paul sat stone still, he was sure he wouldn't like whatever Chris was about to say. He braced himself.
Chris moved his mouth right next to Paul's ear.