Page 112 of Courageous Hearts

Jameson’s soft brown eyes are lit in the first shimmering rays of morning sun, and he looks at me the way he always looks at me. With so much love.

“D’you remember when we first met?” I ask. “You held out your hand and said, ‘Hi there. I’m Jameson Wright.’”

Jameson nods, smiling a little crookedly.

“My first thought was ‘Holy shit. Mr. Right? I’ve been waitin’ for you.’ Followed quickly by the realization that you weren’t my Mr. Right. How could you be? We didn’t even know each other back then, and for all I did know, you were straight.”

Jameson reaches up, stroking my neck, his thumb running lightly over the bruise he left there last night. My cock thickens, but I ignore it for now.

“Even from the beginnin’,” I go on, “there was somethin’ about you, Mr. Wright. Some draw I couldn’t explain.”

“Yeah,” he breathes, the simple word an agreement.

“You call me your greatest adventure,” I say, voice rasping on the way out. “But Jamie, we might not even be here if it weren’t for you. If you hadn’t taken a chance all those years ago. So, thank you. Thank you for havin’ the courage to follow your heart.”

“And thank you for trusting me with yours,” Jameson responds softly.

I nod, throat tight, and Jameson leans forward, snagging my lips. He smells like sandalwood and salt, and the bristle of his stubble is as familiar to me as my own name.

I remember once, when I was maybe fifteen or sixteen, dancing out behind that big processing plant in Plum Valley, Texas long after Mr. and Mrs. Shaw had gone home. I had this ache deep in my chest. It was all the things I wanted that I never thought I could have.

I didn’t know, back then, what was waiting for me. And if I could go back, I’d tell that scared kid to hold tight. That their Mr. Right was coming, and that they’d be allowed to have him. To love him the way they wanted to. That they’d be held, one day, in strong, secure arms.

I didn’t know it, but I’d get everything I wanted. More than I knew to hope for.

And as Jameson and I face the sunrise together, watching the brilliant colors of orange and gold chase each other across the sky, I send a silent reminder to my future self to remember this moment. To hold onto it tight.

And that’s exactly what I do. I clutch Jameson’s arm to my chest, right above my heart, as the dawn sends us another new day. Another new adventure.

The End

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