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"Pete," Charlie said, out of nowhere, "how many other guys are you fucking?"

He didn't sound uptight or anything, just interested, and it was midnight and I was relaxed because we'd been in bed for about four hours and hadn't been to sleep yet, so I answered him. "You're the only one in the bed, asshole."

His suddenly raised knee did its best to connect with my balls, but he missed. I didn't think his heart had really been in it, anyway.

"I'm serious, Pete," he said, after I'd wrestled him down and was sitting on his chest, my cock half-hard again and aimed at his mouth.

He hadn't fought me all that much, and the look in his eyes was one of his serious ones. He raised his head up and kissed the tip of my prick - which felt good, but I thought was kind of silly. Then his lips bent in that one-sided smile of his and my heart took a flip-flop in my chest.

I rolled off him and studied the ceiling, thinking about the Cubs game until everything settled down. Then I said it: "None. How about you?"

I didn't mind telling him he was the only one; I guess I just didn't want to hear his answer to the same question. I'd met a few of his cop buddies, and I was sure at least two were gay, but gay or straight, who wouldn't go for a roll in the hay with Charlie if they got the chance?

Charlie's hand came over and stroked down my arm as he said, "You're it, Pete."

I blinked. Really?

After our first go at kissing, we'd kept that as part of our relationship. It mostly made the sex better for me, and Charlie didn't seem to have any complaints, so I leaned over and kissed him, hard, which led to more fun things.

Laying there afterwards, Charlie snoring next to me, I felt relieved. More than that, I felt happy. Charlie said I was his one and only and he was mine and I was happy. That must mean something.

But what?

It was right after that I asked him to move in. It seemed the smart thing to do. If he was living with me, he wouldn't be as tempted to go out without me and maybe find someone he liked better and I wouldn't have to find a new fuck buddy - or that's how I thought about it at the time.

He'd been living in a studio apartment in a low-end part of town, though I knew he could have afforded better, and he spent most nights at my place anyway.

Why shouldn't we be roommates?

Pure logic, right?

We didn't go to the bar as much, living together, or out to eat either, since Charlie was a pretty good cook, so we were saving money. I'm not sure if I ever felt sensible before, except maybe on the job, but it didn't feel bad. In fact, it felt pretty good.

Of course, having Charlie in my bed each night was a major benefit too.

I'd met Charlie's mom and stepdad, Melody and Arthur, when they invited Charlie and me over for dinner, and they seemed nice, even if she was a Unitarian minister. After all my years in Catholic school, religion of any kind gave me the pip.

Arthur sold real estate, and when he started talking about houses big enough for a family, I asked to use their bathroom and didn't return until the discussion turned to baseball. What the hell. Hadn't they figured out that two gay roommates don't equal grandchildren?

My mom was safely far away in Florida, so that was good. She wouldn't be welcoming her gay son's boyfriend into her home anytime soon. She lived about six blocks from my sister, my idiot brother-in-law, and their three below-average kids. I didn't envy any of them. Besides, they'd probably go out of their way to tell everyone my first name was Julius.

And then I caught myself. Boyfriend. Was Charlie my boyfriend?

Wow. I'd been sexually active since I was sixteen and had gone through a lot of guys, but never had a relationship that lasted longer than a couple weeks - mostly just a night or two.

Maybe Charlie and I weren't just roommates.

We'd been together for a while now, and I had to admit, if only to myself, that I liked it - a lot. In fact, it had finally begun to dawn on me why I was happy, and that was because what I felt for Charlie had changed.

He wasn't just a friend I liked fucking. I was pretty sure, though it still scared me to think it, that I was in love with him. That's what it means when you think about someone all the time and like being around them, right?

Well, what did you do when you loved somebody? That was easy. You made a commitment, even beyond living together. These days, even if you were both guys, you could get… um… married.

Scary, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. I was proud of Charlie. He was a great police officer, probably looking to be a detective sometime in the near future. I was proud to be seen with him, and if we got married, that would show the whole damn world how I felt about him, which would probably make Charlie happy.

Everybody at his precinct knew he was gay now, and only a few assholes seemed to care. I'd even gone to a couple of parties given by other officers as Charlie's plus-one, and most people didn't blink, not even when we danced together - which was all Charlie's fault. I damn well knew I couldn't dance for shit.

Anyway, I decided to bring it up and see what Charlie felt about the whole marriage thing before I lost my nerve.

It was harder than I thought.

We were sitting side by side on the couch, him reading and me trying to do a crossword puzzle but mostly gearing myself up.

"Um, Charlie," I began, "you've been living here for a while."

The cat, Fuzzballs, was sitting on Charlie's lap, and he never sits on mine, not that I'd want him to, but that's probably because he feeds the little beast bacon when he thinks I'm not looking.

He put his book down and moved the cat gently off his lap. "Wow, Mr. Obvious, you noticed!" he said with a smirk.

If I was Mr. Obvious, he was definitely up for Mr. Asshole.

"Yeah, I noticed. And it was me who asked you to move in. Remember that?"

He threw an arm over my shoulder and breathed in my ear. "Yeah, Pete, I remember, and I'm glad you did."

I shivered and tried to stay focused. "Hey, I'm trying to say something here."

"So say it." He was paying more attention to my ear than what I was saying, and it was distracting as hell.

"I mean, what I wanted to tell you was… shit, Charlie, you're giving me goose bumps."

He moved away a little, but his eyes were hot - that look that really gets my juices flowing.

"Okay. Well, it's just that, you know, I don't feel the same way about you as I used to."

His expression turned serious. "Oh?"

"No, I mean, people's feelings can change, right? For good reasons? We're not friends anymore, we're…"

He sat up suddenly and held a palm in front of my face. "Great. Why am I not surprised? You don't need to say the rest. Everybody at the bars told me you were fickle as hell, came in with a different guy every week, said you'd never settle down with me, but I said they were wrong, that you and I had something special. But here I am, wrong again. Fuck it, let me grab my wallet and phone and I'll get out of your hair. You can send the rest of my stuff to my mom's or… fuck it… burn it, I don't give a damn."

He stood up and headed for the hall. What the fuck?

I followed him. "Charlie, what are you talking about? You've got to listen to me, I…"

"Haven't you said enough? I get the picture, all right? I'm not stupid. I…"

I grabbed his arm. "Yes you are, you're the stupidest motherfucker in the goddamn world if you think…"

He pulled away, and I staggered a little bit, to where I hit my elbow against the doorjamb. It fucking hurt.

"Can't you leave me a little goddamned dignity, Pete? What do you want - you wanna see me break down and bawl like a baby because you fucking broke up with me? Well, get over it, because…"

And I hit him. I didn't mean to, but he was yelling now and pushing me away, and it seemed like the most natural thing to make a fist and give him one right across the chops. He stood there a minute, his eyes going wide, a hand reaching up to hold his jaw, and then he hit me back, a solid right to the breadbasket.

I almost threw up.

I kind of lost it then, and I grabbed for him and got his shirt, gave a yank, and all the buttons popped off just like shrapnel.

He pushed against my chest again, but I held on, just wanting him to stay still and listen for a minute, though I had kind of forgotten what it was I'd meant to say. I got ahold of both his wrists and pushed him up against the wall. I heard his head connect with a thunk, and he tried to knee me in the balls, so I stepped closer and pressed my body against his to hold him still.

"God-fucking-dammit, Charlie, if you'd just listen…." His face was only a couple inches away, so close I couldn't help but see the tears he didn't want to shed making his eyes shine and that pretty mouth turned down at the corners, and suddenly I pressed my lips against his - not thinking, just wanting him not to feel sad.

I thought maybe he'd turn his head, but instead he bit my lip until I tasted blood. It hurt, but I didn't feel like hitting him again. I felt like….

I let go of his hands and flipped him so his face was against the wall. He struggled, but I held him fast as I reached around and undid his jeans' buttons. He was really struggling now, swear words rolling out in a string that didn't make any sense. I grabbed his jeans and yanked them all the way down along with his boxers, then stepped on them while I lifted one of his legs with one of mine until it pulled out of the pant leg. Then I took a deep breath, let go of him entirely, and dropped to my knees behind him.

He went completely still and bent his head to look down at me. I pushed his legs apart, and he didn't fight me, just stood there leaning against the wall, chest heaving and mouth open. I parted his cheeks, leaned in, and licked.

Charlie shuddered, and I heard him inhale sharply, but I didn't stop. His skin was hot and sweaty and tasted of salt and earth and musk. His little pucker quivered when my tongue caressed it, squeezing tighter and then relaxing a little each time. He moaned and leaned his hips back, giving me an even better view. I let go one of his cheeks and reached around to grasp his cock, which was pretty damn hard already - but not nearly as hard as mine.

Before long his dick was dripping precum and his asshole was dripping with my saliva. I started to stand up, but Charlie turned and knelt down with me, then ripped open my jeans as he kissed me hard. When he'd reached in and freed my cock, I pushed him down on his back and moved between his legs, then held his gaze as I pushed his knees to his chest.

He didn't even try to look away, just brought his hands up to grip my shoulders as I spit into my palm, slicked up, guided my prick to his entrance, and eased in.

He winced for a second, then narrowed his eyes and pushed up until I was balls-deep inside him. Damn, it felt amazing.

I tilted my head in question, but he nodded. "Go."

And I did. I'd never felt this driven. I had to take him as hard and fast as I could, let him know I wanted him now and forever so he wouldn't be able to doubt it ever again.

His prick slid against my belly, and he moaned every time I bottomed out - maybe I did too. It wasn't long before I felt that heat building up in my balls, an explosion about to happen, a volcano about to erupt, a natural event that couldn't be stopped, not even by the end of the world.

"Charlie," I groaned, and then I gave him everything I had, just as he screamed, "Pete!"

We didn't move for a while. I think maybe I blacked out.

The next thing I remember is looking down into his gorgeous eyes and seeing him smile at me, his pants still around one ankle and mine about at my knees.

"Jesus God, Pete. We did that bareback."

Well, looking for a condom and lube hadn't been in the forefront of my mind a few minutes ago.

"You okay, Charlie?" I said, feeling stupid and inconsiderate, things I probably often am but never like to admit to.

He laughed a little. "Okay? You could say that. Look at our bellies."

I rolled off him to look, and then I had to laugh. There was enough cum between us to stick down a whole new layer of wallpaper in the hall.

"If you're all right, guess going bareback was okay. We both got tested three months ago, and I haven't been with anyone but you since then."

"Yeah, I guess it wasn't a big deal," Charlie said, smiling.

I snorted. "The hell it wasn't. I'm pretty sure that was our best sex ever."

He laughed. "You're right. I guess you should piss me off more often."

I grinned, raising up on one elbow. I remembered what I'd meant to say.

"How about if we get married? Then I could piss you off on a regular basis."

Charlie's eyes got like saucers. "What?"

"You heard me. Why don't we get married?"

He cleared his throat, and when he spoke his voice had gone husky. "You mean that, Pete?"

"Yeah. I mean, yeah, my feelings for you have changed. You're not just my friend anymore… I-I love you. That's what I was trying to say when this whole thing started." I cleared my throat before I started to cry, then thought I should lighten things up. "I think you should marry me, and then you'd be half owner of the damn cat. He likes you better than me anyway."

Charlie's grin looked like it might split his face. "Aw, he'd like you just as well if you fed him treats and petted him now and then."

"Fuck the cat. How about you start petting me and feeding me treats?"

Charlie laughed. I mean, we were already on the hall floor, but he laughed so hard he started rolling around like a crazy man. Fuzzballs, who had wisely hid under the couch while we were fighting and fucking, must have got curious, because he crawled out, stood in the doorway, and meowed. Charlie grabbed him.

"Hey, buddy, you're going to have two daddies to spoil you. What do you think of that?"

If I'd grabbed him, the cat would have taken a chunk out of me, but no, he curled up on Charlie's chest and started to purr. I didn't know if I should be glad or jealous.

Then I blinked. I was a cat's daddy? What the actual fuck.

"Hey," I said, "aren't you going to say it back?"

"Say what?"

He knew damn well what. Was he going to make me beg? All at once he shoved the cat away and rolled on top of me.

"You know I love you, Pete. I've loved you since our first time in the back of that damn ambulance. Ever since you told that cop you were pumping my stomach when you were really pumping…"

I kissed him. Sometimes kissing Charlie is the only way to get him to shut up.

The arrangements came together faster than I would have imagined. Charlie's mom decided most things, only asking our preferences about the cake and flowers and stuff, though I really didn't have any. I guess Charlie did. That's probably how we ended up with daisies all over the chapel - he said it was "our" flower.

We wore matching tuxedos with a daisy on the lapel. Jason and some of my gay buddies from the ambulance service and more than I would have expected of Charlie's cop friends, including his captain, came to the ceremony at his mom's church. Fuzzballs was not invited.

Charlie's stepdad looked real proud, and his mom had tears in her eyes, but she wiped them away before standing up to read the ceremony for us.

I stumbled over my vows, even though all I had to do was repeat them, mostly because Charlie was standing there looking at me with his eyes all lit up and a big smile, and he looked so good I was thinking he should wear a tuxedo more often.

I didn't even mind too much when she had me repeat "I, Julius, take thee, Charles," and nobody laughed about my real first name, not even Charlie.

Then there was cake and punch and stuff.

The whole thing was intense. Charlie was schmoozing with his buddies, so I went and sat in a quiet corner with a beer before somebody could ask me to dance.

We were married, for Christ's sake. I kind of couldn't believe it.

Melody came over, gave me a kiss on the cheek, and called me "son," which made me start to tear up like I'd promised myself I wasn't going to. So I covered it with "So, you like being an ordained minister, huh? Marrying people and all."

She linked her arm with mine, walked me over to where Charlie was standing, and said, "Yep, that's my job."

I kissed her and then Charlie, and as we were standing there his stepfather came over and pressed a brochure into my hand. Of course, it was all about houses for sale.

What the fuck. A year ago I was a happy-go-lucky asshole living alone and playing the field. Now I've got a husband I love and I'm daddy to a cat.

I guess anything can happen.