We had fallen asleep in the bed, and I awoke to the feeling of something wet under me. The ice cubes had melted and now the towel was damp and sticky under my back and I pulled it loose and threw it on the floor. It looked like Ash had gotten up sometime during the night and undressed, because he was sprawled out on his back next to me, naked and asleep. Carefully I turned to the side so I could get a better look at him. He had his one arm above his head and a strand of his black hair was entwined around his pinky. A bright ray of sunlight that had escaped the curtains was dancing on his naked chest and the cover was down at his hips. He looked strangely innocent.

That guy was actually my boyfriend. I let the word swirl around in my mouth. That guy was my boyfriend and had whipped me to near ecstasy last night. Both these facts were crazy in and of themselves and I smiled to myself. If people only knew. But the word tasted awesome. I brutally shoved aside the immediate thought of how much it would hurt if it ended. Even if I wanted to know what the future held, I didn't want to be in that headspace now. Right now, I only wanted to enjoy the day and nothing else.

I rested my eyes on Ash's chest that slowly heaved with his breaths. The cover had a telling bulge beneath his hips and the sight made my insides buzz to life. He was having morning wood and he wasn't even awake yet. I simply couldn't resist it. Gingerly I traced two fingers along the bulge and studied his face intently to see if he reacted, but the only thing moving were his eyelids, like he was dreaming. I let my hand slide under the cover. He was warm and a little sweaty and when I touched the soft skin around his spectacularly hard cock a shiver ran through me. Why was morning wood always the hardest ones?

When I started to rub him, he made a sound between a sigh and a whimper, and I just loved it. I wanted to hear him more. I glided my fingers over the head of his cock, letting the pre-cum spread to make my movements slicker.

"Mmh..." Ash moaned and started to squirm.

Would I be able to jack him off completely without him waking up? Would I be able to, without touching myself? That was the big question. I felt the throbbing of my pulse in my own erection and couldn't help grinding lightly against his thigh, feel the heat from his skin.

"Mm, Jamie..."

He uttered my name in a groan and suddenly he opened his eyes and looked at me, turned to his side and pulled me into a deep kiss. He took my cock in a steady grip and I gasped.

"Come closer," he whispered, breathing heavily and grabbed my waist.

We touched each other in silence, the only sounds being our breaths that got heavier and more erratic. Ash gaze never wavered once from me, it was sincere, heated and it was impossible to look away. He felt so incredibly close in more than one way. We were close in mind. And when he was nearing his climax, he sucked in my lower lip in his mouth and his fingers dug deep into my waist. He was so beautiful that I couldn't contain my own orgasm and I came seconds after him. Ash pulled me in closer and kissed me softly.

"Good morning," I mumbled smiling at him and stroked my hand down his back.

"It certainly is," he smiled back.

"Ready to meet my relatives today?"

Ash laughed.

"Of course. I intend to charm them so much that they never knew what hit them. How's your backside?"

I hadn't even reflected on that. I had slept like a log and never felt any pain, so maybe it wasn't that bad? I reached down and touched the skin on my ass and flinched. The skin was on fire and prickly. Well, it was tender alright.

"Its... sore," I confessed and saw his grin getting interested.

"Stand up, I wanna see," he said in an eager voice, and he almost looked proud of himself.

"Fucking sadist," I joked and got out of bed.

I stood with my back at him and watched over my shoulder. Ash had sat up in bed and made a satisfied sound when he admired his handywork. Quickly he got to his feet and came up behind me. Slowly he caressed my aching ass and kissed my neck.

"You look positively lovely," he purred. "I'm gonna enjoy watching you sit down for breakfast."

***

We spent the day helping my parents prepare for the party. My sister had finally softened up and came whispering to me that she was sorry. As I had suspected, she and Daniel had had an argument, but they had worked it out now and Daniel and Ash was occupied with assembling the party tent on the big lawn. But Zoey couldn't drop the fact that I had rubbed her face in my happiness in the car. I defended myself with the fact that I couldn't do anything different, as we had just made it official that we were a couple. At that realization my sister's grievance was gone like the wind.

"Jay, I'm so happy for you!" she squeaked and hugged me, so I hardly got any air. "Did you tell mom?"

"It kinda became obvious when Ash presented himself as my boyfriend," I said and to my surprise I felt how my cheeks blushed.

She squeaked again and pulled me into some kind of weird dance around the table that we were setting. We continued the preparations, and the day went by faster than I had imagined. Without me even noticing how it happened, Ash had assimilated himself into my family in a way that felt so natural. He had a way with people, he could get along with practically anyone and I was almost jealous of it. He had no problems talking with either my dad nor Daniel and when more of my relative started to arrive it was the same.

As the afternoon turned into evening both me and Ash was ushered away by my mother to shower and dress. We politely obeyed and as we finally stood there in the cabin with our suits on, me with some hideous checkered tie my mother made me wear, we looked at each other. Ash grinned and teasingly pulled at my tie.

"It's at these occasions I'm happy that I don't have a family," he said and eyed the tie. "I would give anything to see you without this."

He looked damn perfect as always with his black shirt and jacket, and this time he had added a tie too, but his was a nice black satin one and not some remnant from the seventies as I had. I wondered if it was worth the trouble to ditch the tie, just because Ash asked me to.

"My mom would freak," I muttered. "But I promise to lose it as soon as dinner is on the way."

"I could force you, you know..." Ash mused, and his eyes sparkled. "But I don't think I'll be that mean. Not tonight anyway. You look so damn sexy, if it wasn't for that tie."

"Thanks," I said, a little embarrassed and pulled at my collar. "Now let's get the greeting going."

When we got up to the big house again more people had arrived, and I started to get nervous for real. Even if Ash had promised me that it would be fine, that he could talk back if we got any snide comments, I was worried what people would say. But I should have had more confidence in my own relatives because neither my aunts or uncles even raised an eyebrow when Ash presented himself. The only one not really getting it was my grandmother, but that was mostly because she was getting pretty senile. Two of my cousins had also arrived with their loved ones and I greeted the cousin I knew the most, Ryan and his girlfriend Debbie.

Ash had been at my side the whole time, but now I noticed that he seemed to be distracted by something. He stood looking up at the veranda, where one of my aunts was talking to my other cousin and her boyfriend. We hadn't gotten to them yet, so I took the opportunity as I was on a roll now. I grabbed Ash by the hand and resolutely walked up to them. On the way up I saw that the boyfriend was looking at us and seemed to react to the fact that we were holding hands. He almost seemed grossed out.

"Long time no see, Cora," I smiled to my cousin, and she smiled back. "This is Ash, my boyfriend."

Cora looked pleasantly surprised and took Ash's hand, but Ash only half-heartedly shook it and said a vague hi. Her boyfriend was standing stiff as a board beside her and mumbled that his name was Keith and seemed to do everything to not shake hands. Ash eyed him intently, but just nodded. So, this guy was the exception to the rule. He was clearly uncomfortable just looking at us and I couldn't understand why Ash just let it slide. Even if Keith wasn't saying anything inappropriate, the Ash I knew would have made sure they shook hands anyway just to make a point, but he didn't.

I didn't get a chance to ask Ash what had happened because we never got to be alone, and the party had started out in the garden. But I couldn't help noticing how Ash continuously glanced in the direction Keith was at. Eventually I couldn't keep it in anymore and gently pulled on his jacket and asked what was going on.

"What?" Ash said, as if he wasn't prepared for the question. "No, it's nothing. Just that... we know each other. And he doesn't act like we do."

"You know each other?" I said surprised and looked up to where Keith was.

"Yeah, but let's talk about it later, not now," Ash dismissed with a tone that made my nerves shake.

There was something in the way Ash acted that made me anxious. And even if I tried intensively to not do it, I couldn't help studying Keith a little closer. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with an angled face that made his features look rather threatening. I could see that he wasn't used to wearing a suit, just like Ash. His eyes were dark and piercing and he had a slick back. He looked like a gangster. Not in the stereotype way, but in the real way. Why did Ash know him?

I actively made the decision not to dwell on it. It would only be bad for my mental state of mind to try and understand it by myself and Ash would tell me later anyway, I just had to be patient. But as the evening progressed, I could see how Ash and Keith kept glancing at each other and to keep my mind off it I kept filling up my wine glass and drank more than I had planned. So when the music started and people began to dance and have fun, I was pretty drunk and my decision not to think went to hell. I wanted to know why they knew one another. I grabbed a hold of Ash.

"Come on, tell me, how do you know Keith?" I said, trying to sound interested and not worried, as I really was.

Ash looked at me quickly and then back to where Keith was.

"He and I... messed around for a while," he said finally. "I was the one who ended it, but I don't think he took it too well."