It felt as if today was the day he had been reborn. He felt like singing and dancing, taking off all his clothes and running through the streets, screaming, “Drake...Drake...I love you...I love you!”

Instead, Johnny sat on his veranda, eating his usual breakfast of brown toast and coffee. The only thing unusual about it was the time. It was after one in the afternoon, and Drake hadn’t even come down yet.

They had talked almost all night long. There had been bouts of fighting, some crying, and finally, after all these years, they found a solution that they could both live with.

By the time a new day had dawned, Drake was kissing him, and they spent the good part of the morning making love. For the very first time, Drake put up no resistance. There were no inhibitions, no holding back, and no excuses. When they looked at each other as the sun rose in the sky, they both understood that they had no choice. There was no longer anything that could separate them, no more excuses to be made. The power of their love frightened them. Perhaps it always had, but they would just have to deal with it, face whatever came. It was strange how the very thought of losing someone could keep you apart, and it had somehow.

They were lovers first, but that would not negate those feelings nurtured through the years as they grew up side by side as brothers. Those feelings of kinship and brotherhood could only enhance the physical side of their relationship. There was no reason to see it as a problem. They would have to learn how to balance those feelings. It was either that, or they would go their separate ways, putting everything behind them, including their careers. But they knew that there was too much at stake to do that. The people they loved had already suffered enough because of this passion--or at least because they had denied it for so long. They had suffered enough. It was time to make everyone happy by making themselves happy. It was a completely new thing for both of them, and it wouldn’t be easy.

When Drake came downstairs finally, he gazed at Johnny with sleepy eyes and gave him a tender smile. Yes, he was happy, but this was new. It was real, and that frightened him a little.

He sat across from him, wearing a pair of Johnny’s sweatpants. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes. Johnny reached across the table and took his hand. “I love you,” he mouthed.

“I know,” Drake replied softly, smiling at him. He squeezed his hand and then released it. He looked away from Johnny for a minute, overwhelmed by emotion. He cleared his throat, and when the trembling inside him died, he looked at him again.

“You know what I forgot?” he said softly.

“No.” Johnny shook his head. “What did you forget, my love?”

Drake smiled at him. My love. How could everything seem so new to him suddenly when he’d known this man all his life? “I forgot to invite my son to Mac’s party tonight.”

“Shit. I guess you’ll have to ask his friend to come along as well.” Johnny tried not to sound miffed every time something about Matt was mentioned, but he did anyway.

Drake hid a smile. “Well...yeah. Tony knows, doesn’t he?”

“Yes, I told him last week. I hope he doesn’t forget.”

“Where is he, by the way?” Drake looked around.

“I don’t know. Do you want some breakfast? I’ll call for...”

Drake shook his dark head. “No. I think I’ll go and take a shower.”

Johnny smiled at him. “I think I need one, too.”

Drake stood up. “Well, come on, then. Who goes first?”

“You are teasing me,” Johnny complained as they climbed the stairs side by side.

“No, I...” Drake gave him an expression of innocence. “I had no ulterior motive but to really take a shower,” he said, keeping his voice deep and sincere.

Johnny followed him into the bathroom with a smirk.

“There are several showers in this house,” Drake turned around and met his eyes, then gave him a wicked grin. “Unless, of course, you’re attached to this particular shower.”

“Take off those pants,” Johnny demanded. He made a point of running his gaze over him and added, “Pants that, by the way, belong to me. I don’t recall giving you permission to borrow them.”

Drake took off the sweatpants and threw them at him, giving him a cocky grin. He was just about to turn on the shower when Johnny grabbed him around the waist, wrestling with him like when they were boys. The wrestling quickly turned into something else, something filled with urgent need and raw desire. Johnny backed him up against the wall, his hands wandering down the length of him. He kissed Drake’s mouth hotly, took Drake’s cock in his hands. “Oh, God,” he muttered, sinking to his knees. “You are so beautiful, Drake. I want to--”

The phone rang, shattering the mood.

Johnny placed his face against Drake’s thigh and groaned. “Shit. I can let the answering machine get it.”

“Answer it,” Drake muttered, giving him a playful push.

Johnny stood up and walked into the adjoining bedroom, swearing under his breath. He picked up the phone. “Hello. Be brief.”

Drake came into the room, wrapping a towel around his waist.

“Johnny? It’s Janet. Hope I’m not bothering you. I tried earlier, but no one answered, and I tried calling Drake, but--”

“Drake is here.” Johnny rolled his eyes at him. “Do you want to talk to him?” Drake walked over to the bed and shook his head. He pointed at the bed with a suggestive smile.

Johnny placed a hand over the receiver. “It’s Janet.”

Drake narrowed his eyes.

“I can talk to you,” Janet said.