Mac the Mechanic

"Mike. You, uh, having problems with your battery?"

"Yeah," I croaked out.

Andy popped the hood and hooked up the battery tester.

"Yeah, it's dead. Why didn't you get this taken care of before it died? I'm sure you must have had problems starting it the past few days."

"I know..."

Andy unhooked the battery and removed it from the bracket. He installed the new battery within minutes. He took my keys and the car started right up.

"Thanks, Mac."

Andy seemed to cringe at the sound of my voice. He shut the hood and threw the old battery into his truck. He pulled open the driver's door and started to climb in. He couldn't get away from me fast enough.

"Wait. How much do I owe you?" I asked, pulling out my wallet and checkbook.

"No charge."

"I can't let you do that. That wouldn't be right."

"It's to make up for yesterday."

"You didn't do anything wrong. I was the one who made a fool of myself. I'm not going to let you give me a free battery and service just because you feel sorry for me, Mac."

"Mike."

"Please, Mac. Just let me pay for it."

I started filling in a check and my hands were shaking and my eyes were brimming with tears.

"Nothing happened with him, Mike. He wanted me to go out with him, just for dinner he said. There wasn't anything between us."

"You don't owe me an explanation, Mac."

"I saw how hurt you were. I saw the tears. The look on your face... I never wanted to hurt you, Mikey. Please believe me."

"I believe you, Mac."

I stood there with my pen and checkbook trying to hold it together.

Andy sighed and finally said, "Forty-five dollars."

I filled in the amount and gave him the check. "Where's Dirk?"

"He said he needed to head out and gave me the call. He didn't say it was for you. He thinks he's clever. I'm gonna have to have a talk with him."

I smiled and laughed a little bit.

"Are you hungry? Do you wanna go grab a pizza?"

"I don't know... I don't think I can do that..."

"Why not?"

"I can't be friends with you, Mac. I... just can't do it. It hurts too much."

Andy put his arms around me and held me and I burst into tears and cried into his chest. I didn't think I could cry any more tears for him, but here I was, bawling. Again. We stood there in the parking deck until I stopped crying.

"I told them," I whispered.

"Hmm?"

"I told my parents what happened. At the wedding. Ha. Dad was yelling at me to stop moping around and I told them everything. That I had been dating you for four months... since they saw us at the farmer's market... why you broke up with me. You were right, Mac. I was scared and I really hurt you and I'm so sorry."

Andy stroked the back of my hair. "I should have said something to you sooner. You didn't know how I was feeling and I didn't give you a chance to respond. We should have talked. Instead I got pissed and shut you out. I was a real dick. So... We're both sorry and we're both hungry. Now let's go get some pizza."

I looked up at him and he bent down and kissed me gently.

"I missed you so much, Andy."

"I missed you too, Mikey. It feels good to hear you call me 'Andy'. Every time you called me 'Mac', it was like a jab to my heart."

Andy's voice cracked a little and he cleared his throat and blinked a few times. "Follow me to the shop so I can get rid of this truck."

I nodded. I got in my car and followed the tow truck to his shop. I parked my car and Andy motioned for me to get out. I got out and put my laptop bag in the trunk and locked the doors. I followed him to his Harley and he gave me my helmet and I got on the back of the bike.

"Hold on tight, Mikey," he said as he climbed on.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and closed my eyes and leaned into his back as we rode to Vinny's. We shared a Hawaiian pizza just like our first 'date'. Andy also ordered two beers.

"Drink your beer, Mikey," Andy said, pushing the glass in front of me. "You need to relax."

I took a big swig of the beer. "I'm nervous, Andy."

"Why? It's just me."

"I'm scared," I whispered and then gulped down another mouthful.

"Of what?"

"I'm hoping that you'll give me a second chance and scared to death that you'll reject me."

I closed my eyes and swallowed nervously.

"Mikey. Look at me."

I looked up into Andy's blue eyes.

"I'm here. We're here together. We're gonna work through this. I promise. Please don't cry. Okay?"

I nodded.

We made small talk and caught up on the past couple weeks before I got serious.

"Andy, I'm sorry for hurting you. If we can try again, I promise I won't ever hide our relationship from anyone."

"Mikey, I'm sorry for treating you the way I did. Our first fight and I acted like a dick and bailed. It won't happen again."

Andy took my hand and kissed the top of my fingers. After finishing the pizza, I let Andy pay the bill. We got on his Harley and he pulled out of the parking lot, but turned in the wrong direction. We were going to his house. I tightened my hold around him and nuzzled into his back.

He pulled into the driveway and parked the bike in the garage. He took my hand and led me into the house. He kicked off his boots at the door and I did the same with my shoes. He bolted the door behind us and led me through the dark house to his bedroom. He let go of my hand and walked to his bathroom and turned on the light and partially closed the door. Just the right amount of light spilled into the bedroom, allowing us to see each other. Andy cupped my face in his hands.

"Mikey. I love you so fucking much. I can't ever be without you again."

"Andy, I'm yours forever. I love you, too."

Andy bent down and kissed me hard and deep. I opened my mouth to him and his tongue swirled around mine.

"You make me so hard, Mikey," he whispered as he pulled me tighter to his body. "I want you so fucking bad."

Andy made love to me and it was amazing. He was hard and rough, but still gentle. It had been a couple weeks for both of us and we both came quickly. He pulled out and got another condom and made love to me again. When the alarm went off in the morning, we made love again.

# Chapter 7

I called Mom and said I wanted to invite her and Dad over to my apartment to meet Andy, my boyfriend. She insisted that we come over to their house so that she could prepare a "real" dinner. There was no arguing with her, so that's what we did.

Andy brought an expensive bottle of scotch and some cigars that he thought might help give him and Dad some common ground.

It was awkward at first, but after a while Andy charmed both Mom and Dad. Mom thought he was a "really nice man." I was so embarrassed when she brought up Sandra Bullock and her husband again, but I supposed her heart was in the right place and Andy thought it was really funny.

He and Dad bonded over their favorite sports teams. Dad and Andy talked about Andy's business, and Dad seemed genuinely interested. When Andy pulled out the cigars and scotch, Dad was hooked. I followed them out to the back deck while they drank the liquor and puffed their cigars. Andy pulled my chair close to his and had his arm around my shoulders while he and Dad talked about "guy stuff."

I had the biggest grin ever plastered across my face. Before we left, Mom hugged Andy and kissed him on the cheek, just like she did to me. Dad surprised me by shaking Andy's hand, then pulling him into a warm hug and patting him on the back.

It was all very surreal. I had built up in my head what I thought my mom and dad would be like if I ever brought a man home. What actually happened was nothing like I thought. I realized that what I had done to Andy, I had done to them as well.

Mom and Dad started having us over for dinner regularly and we even had them over to Andy's house once. Seeing the way they accepted Andy made me feel so good.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at my parents house with my sister, my brother and his wife. I think Kelly maybe was a good influence on Jacob. She liked Andy right away and Jacob begrudgingly got along with him. We spent that evening at Andy's mom's house with his family.

That night I laid in Andy's bed, cuddled up against his chest after making love.

"Mikey? When is your lease up on your apartment?"

"The end of December. I'm supposed to renew it."

"Call them and give your thirty days notice."

"Andy?"

"Mikey, I can't be without you. I need you here with me. Every night. I want to share my home with you."

There was a lot of hugs and kisses and crying (well, I was the one doing the crying of course).

I called the leasing office and gave my notice that next day. I actually never left Andy's home. That weekend, he called up some of his buddies and we moved all of my things out of the apartment into his house. The stuff that we didn't want, like my old couch, we donated to Goodwill. We put my bedroom set in the empty third bedroom and made it a guest bedroom.

\* \* \*

As great as my personal life was, my professional life was a nightmare. We had another problem with the database server. One of the hard drives went down and it should have been hot-swappable, but the server crashed when they tried to fix it. They ended up restoring the database from a backup and we lost a day's work. That was the excuse my boss was looking for. He fired me.

I had enough money saved up that it wasn't a problem, plus living with Andy I didn't have as many expenses since everything was shared by the both of us. I started looking for a new job and I found one fairly quickly.

My new boss was gay and lived with his partner. They actually got married in Massachusetts when it became legal and had recently adopted a baby girl. The atmosphere at work was fun and pleasant. I hadn't realized how dysfunctional my old company was until I started work at my new job.

My life was finally coming together.

\* \* \*

As Christmas approached, I told Andy I wanted to do something special for him for Christmas, but I needed his help. I wanted to get a tattoo and I wanted to know what to do and where to go. He was touched, but concerned. He made sure that I knew that it was permanent and it was what I really wanted to do, for myself and not because I thought he wanted me to. He made the appointment for the next Saturday.

We went down to his friend's tattoo shop and Andy introduced me to Bax. I told Bax I wanted a word and I wanted it on my left pec. He showed me the fonts and I picked out an old english style font. He asked what I wanted it to say and I told him 'ANDY'. Bax made a joke and chuckled about it being cute that I was going to put Andy's name above my heart and he said I was a sweet boy.

I blushed in embarrassment because that's what I was trying to do and I didn't want it to be a joke, but when I looked up at Andy, he had tears in his eyes. One fell down his left cheek and he hugged me and whispered in my ear how much he loved me. He then told Bax that he wanted MIKEY in the same style in the same place when Bax finished up with me.

Andy held my hand while I got mine done. It took longer than I thought and it hurt like hell, but Bax said I was a brave boy and did good. Andy had to have part of his chest shaved to get his done and when Andy saw the look on my face, he laughed and assured me the hair would grow back.

I held Andy's hand, but I guess he was used to it and it didn't even look like he was uncomfortable. I didn't mind. I liked holding my man's hand. Even in public.

# Chapter 8

After the first of the year, Andy and I went on vacation to Provincetown, Massachusetts. Andy made all the arrangements as a surprise. We stayed at a gay-friendly bed and breakfast. It wasn't really busy since it was winter, but they said it was a great place to visit in the winter.

That first day we were walking hand in hand and we ended up in a jewelry store. Andy brought me over to the rings. He asked the clerk to look at a platinum wedding band. It was a very simple, heavy, masculine band. It was perfect and I much preferred it over the gold. Andy clearly had all of this planned out. My heart was beating so fast I thought my chest was going to explode.

"Mikey, what do you think about this one?"

"It's beautiful, Andy."

"So, what do you say, Mikey? You wanna get married?"

I nodded, "Yes."

Andy cupped my face and kissed me deeply, sensually right there in the store. He wiped my tears away with his thumbs. The clerk sized our fingers and I paid for Andy's ring and he bought mine.

Andy had already done his research and brought our birth certificates and knew exactly what we needed to do. We went to the clerk and applied for the marriage license and paid the fee. We went to a clinic and got our medical certificates to make sure we didn't have any diseases and also got HIV tests. After waiting the three days, we got our license and a justice of the peace performed the ceremony.

When we went to bed that night, it was our first night as a married couple. It was very emotional for both of us. Andy was on top of me, between my legs. He had stretched me with his fingers and I was ready for him.

Andy rested his forehead on mine and I locked onto his deep blue eyes.

"We both tested negative, Mikey," he whispered. "It's you babe for the rest of my life. Only you."

"Yes, Andy," I replied.

I never wanted Andy more than I did right then. He lubed his huge erection with the gel and pushed the head into me with a groan. His dick was red hot and slid into me fully with ease.

"Oh, fuck, Mikey. I've never felt anything like this before. I fuckin' love you, baby."

Andy held me tight and kissed me as he pumped his raw penis in and out of me and the emotions were overwhelming. Knowing we were making love without any barriers for the first time was too much for me to handle. I was gripping his shoulders and thrusting my hips back up to him. He laid his forehead back onto mine and looked me in the eyes.

"Oh, god, Andy. It feels so good. I'm so close. Come inside me, Andy, please."

"Fuck, you feel so good, baby, I'm gonna fill you up. Here it comes, baby!"

"Oh, god! Yes, Andy!"

"Fuck!"

Andy grunted and thrust into me. I felt his cock pulsing over and over and I knew he was blasting a large amount of come inside me. He reached between our bodies and grabbed my dick. I cried out his name once more and exploded.

"Oh, Jesus... oh, fuck," Andy groaned as he collapsed on top of me.

We held each other, panting, trying to catch our breath.

"You are the best ever, babe," Andy whispered into my ear. "The fuckin' best."

I smiled with pride knowing that I pleased him so much. Andy was still rock hard inside me. He lifted himself up onto his arms and looked between our bodies. He started thrusting again.

"Oh god, Andy," I whimpered. "Fuck me again."

Andy pounded my ass hard and fast. We both lasted longer this time. The lube and semen from our first coupling squished and frothed and made a mess as it leaked out of my hole and onto the bed.

Andy kissed my tattoo before moving his mouth to my neck where he sucked hard and nipped the skin with his teeth, marking me as his for the world to see. The bed creaked and groaned under us as he furiously thrust in and out of me, his hips loudly slapping against my ass. When we came, we both cried out loudly. His dick finally softened and slipped out of me.

After we relaxed a bit, we got up and took a shower and gently washed each other. Andy had shot two huge loads inside me and it was running down my leg. I tried to hide my embarrassment as he insisted on helping me clean up back there. We were married now after all, why should I be embarrassed?

After drying each other off, we returned to the bed. Andy laid down a dry towel over the wet spot. I fell asleep with my husband spooned behind me, his hairy chest pressed up against my back, his left arm draped over me. The platinum band on his ring finger shining in the moonlight was the last thing I remember seeing before I fell asleep.

\* \* \*

When returned from our vacation, we had dinner with Andy's mom and she was overjoyed when we told her our news. She hugged and kissed me over and over, and promised to have a celebration dinner soon with the family.

We had dinner with my parents the next night. They were both extremely upset. "How could you!" Mom exclaimed. Andy and I were shocked. We thought they'd be happy for us.

They were upset that we "eloped" and didn't allow them to participate in our ceremony. Andy started laughing when he realized why they were so upset and I did too.

Mom and Dad hugged the both of us. Mom kissed us both on the cheek as she hugged us. Happy tears fell down her cheeks.

Before Dad hugged Andy, he held him by the shoulders and said, "Welcome to my family, son. I love you." Andy hugged Dad back and Andy softly cried on his shoulder.

Andy wiped the tears from his eyes. "My entire life no man has ever called me 'son' and said they loved me," he said.

When Dad pulled Andy back to him and quietly told him "I love you like you were my own boy," I cried too.

I was overjoyed that my parents loved my Andy so much. Mom insisted that Andy call her "Mom" and Dad asked that Andy call him "Dad" or "Pop". Both of them got teary eyed the first time Andy called him "Pop".

Mom and Dad decided to throw a wedding reception party for us two weeks from Saturday. We threw together a guest list, which included my family and Andy's family, all of the guys in his shop, some of my new co-workers, some of our parents' friends, and a handful of others.

Even though I thought it was all too much, the reception was very nice, but not over the top.

Dad stood in front of everyone and asked them to grab a glass of champagne for a toast. He pulled me and Andy up next to him.

"I want to thank everyone for coming," Dad said. "As you all know, we're here to celebrate the marriage of my son Michael Andrews to Andrew MacDonald. I'm not a man of many words, but I want everyone to know how proud I am of my son and how happy I am to have another son join my family. Mike... Andy... I love you both and here's to a lifetime of happiness."

Dad raised his glass and everyone drank to the toast.

"Thanks, Dad," I said, blinking back tears.

"Thanks, Pop," Andy added.

Someone clinked their glass and then everyone else started in. I rolled my eyes and groaned and Andy laughed. He grabbed me and pulled me to him, then leaned down and kissed me hard, deep, open mouthed...

"I love you, Mikey."

"And I love you, Andy."

"Forever."

"Forever."