The Garage: Forever Yours

5) August -- November

It was a Tuesday in mid-August, about three weeks after Scott's birthday. Scott's dad had quietly retired ahead of schedule, and Scott was completely in charge of "The Garage" now. He was doing a good job, but was starting to get stressed about finding a replacement for his uncle, who was now talking more and more about retiring earlier than planned. He wanted to retire shortly after his 67th birthday in late November. They needed to hire someone so he could get them trained.

Scott and George were in Scott's office. In George's hand was a stack of applications and resumes from applicants interested in the job.

"Scott, the top resume is the one I feel is most qualified for the position. Unfortunately, he technically hasn't applied for the position. I was at his boyfriend's house for a BBQ and saw the resume laying there so I read it and took it with me." George looked ashamed as he admitted this. He handed the stack over to Scott.

Scott looked at the top resume. It was Cliff's, the one that had gone missing at the July 4th BBQ. "You took it? Cliff wondered where it disappeared to. Wait, you think he's the most qualified? Really?" Scott had a look of absolute delight on his face, thinking about getting to work with his love everyday.

"Yes, but how do I offer a job to a man who hasn't even applied? Does he even know about my retirement plans?" George worried.

Scott thought a few minutes about that, "I've mentioned your plans to him, of course, in passing. We've even discussed his applying, but he wasn't sure. He wanted to make sure if he got a job it was because of his qualifications, not because he was sleeping with the boss. You do know Cliff still has 6 months left on his internship, right? How is that going to work with you retiring in 2 months?"

"First, let's see if he's is interested in the job. I'll have my secretary set up a meeting with him. If he's interested then we'll work out the details." George jotted a few notes down.

Cliff came in the next afternoon to speak with George. The older man carefully explained all the details of the job; basically he would oversee accounting and payroll. He would track expenditures and income and make necessary adjustments to budgets to ensure the garage prospered. At the end of the meeting, George called Scott in to assure Cliff that Scott knew about the offer and was eager to work with him.

Cliff was extremely interested, especially since George confessed he stole Cliff's resume because of his qualifications, but didn't see how he could get out of his commitment to NPS. George stated he would get the company lawyer to look into it to see what could be done.

A few weeks later, Cliff got the happy news that NPS was willing to release him from his internship early. Once they found out Cliff had no intention of staying on after the internship, they were happy to let him out of the contract early so they could replace him with an intern that may become a full employee. He accepted the offer from George, and prepared to start training for his new job.

Cliff started his new job the third week in September. He hadn't been there for more than a few hours before Scott stopped by his new office and asked him out for dinner the next night. He requested that Cliff dress for the occasion.

Scott showed up at Cliff's house right on time. He was dressed in a dark suit with a blue shirt and tie. His hair was gelled up in spikes, and he had some stubble on his jaw line as he had decided to try to grow a beard. He looked dark and handsome.

Cliff met him at the door wearing a light beige suit with a dark green shirt and light green and beige tie. His long honey brown hair was loose, just as Scott liked it, hanging to frame his face. His light brown eyes were clear and bright, and his face was cleanly shaven. He looked great.

Scott offered his arm to Cliff and walked him to the car. Cliff's jaw dropped, and he turned to stare at Scott. "The mustang? But you said it only comes out for parades and car shows."

"And special events," Scott reminded as he opened the passenger door for Cliff.

"Where are we going? Is tonight a special event?" Cliff questioned.

"Tonight might be the most important night of my life," Scott mumbled under his breath. To Cliff he said, "I hope you think it's special."

Seated in a private corner at the restaurant, Scott took Cliff's hand as it rested on the table. He looked at it for a few minutes, softly stroking it with his thumb before looking up at Cliff.

"I love you, Cliff. More than I ever thought possible." Scott said, looking deep into Cliff's eyes.

"I love you too Scott." Cliff responded as he looked into Scott's eyes.

"I need you in my life. I've waited as patiently as I could while you looked for a job, and the security you needed. I can't wait any longer. I... Well, I'd ask you to marry me; but since that's not legal in Arizona yet, I'm asking you to commit to me, and me alone, for the rest of your life."

Scott held out a small black box in his free hand. The box lid was open and laying inside, gleaming in the candlelight, were two rings. They were silver with gold edging and a gold line through the center of the band. Each ring had 9 small black diamonds in a diamond shape. The diamonds were framed in a gold border. They were definitely masculine, but amazingly stunning in their beauty.

"Scott, they're beautiful." Cliff gasped, looking at the rings. He looked up and searched Scott's eyes with his own. "Do you want a commitment ceremony?"

"Whatever you want, honey. I just want to know that you're mine and I'm yours." Scott watched as Cliff pulled his hand away and used both hands to pick up the larger of the two rings.

"At sometime in the future, we may need to have a commitment ceremony; but for me, right now, I promise to love you, and be faithful only to you for as long as we live." Cliff slipped the ring in his hand onto Scott's left ring finger.

Scott picked up the remaining ring, "I promise to love you, and be faithful only to you as long as we live." Scott repeated. Turning the band so Cliff could see the inscription on the inside, Scott read, "Forever yours." He then slipped the ring onto Cliff's finger as he looked into Cliff's eyes, "I love you."

"Forever yours," Cliff repeated, his eyes locked on Scott's as the two men met above the table to share a kiss.

The newly engaged couple enjoyed a quiet, romantic dinner. Neither could take his eyes off the other. They then went for a drive in the Mustang. Cliff loved the feel of the wind through his hair as they flew down the highway. His eyes were sparkling when he leaned over and whispered to Scott, "Find a place to pull over, I've never made out in a Mustang before."

Scott pulled off the highway onto a smaller road and turned in at the first path he could find. Soon the men were in each other's arms, kissing and caressing each other through their clothes. Their jackets and ties came off, and were quickly followed by their shirts.

Cliff licked and bit at Scott's nipples as he opened his lover's pants. As soon as Scott's pants were open, Cliff's head was in his lap as he sucked and licked Scott's throbbing erection which stuck out through the fly opening in his boxers. Scott ran his fingers through Cliff's smooth hair, gently pressing Cliff's face down further onto his cock. He groaned as his hips bucked up to meet Cliff's mouth. "Baby, so good." He moaned as he tangled his hand deep in Cliff's hair. He felt his orgasm building and just before he exploded he pulled Cliff up by his hair, fighting to hold off his orgasm just a little while longer.

Scott leaned across the bucket seats and attacked Cliff's mouth with his own, thrusting his tongue deep. His questing mouth moved further down and attached itself to Cliff's throat, his rough chin scratching the skin as his hand dove into Cliff's pants, stroking his thick cock through his briefs. Recognizing the feel of Cliff's briefs, he pulled his mouth away from Cliff's neck. "Baby, are you wearing a pair of those mesh briefs again?"

Cliff just grinned as he kissed Scott. Scott gently pushed Cliff away and used both hands to lift Cliff's hips and pull his pants down. He groaned as he saw a pair of green mesh briefs with "Property of Scott" screen printed on the front in black. "Damn baby, I love it when you wear those." He leant over Cliff's lap and licked and sucked Cliff's hard cock through the briefs. He then pulled down the waistband in the front until Cliffs cock and balls were free. He sucked and licked the tip of Cliff's cock, teasing the slit with his tongue as he fondled his balls.

"Oh yeah," Cliff groaned, "So good baby, so very good." He reached over to handle Scott's throbbing organ as Scott continued to work magic with his tongue. Scott moved his hand up to Cliff's chest, scraping his blunt nails over his nipples before grabbing and teasing the nipple between his fingers, even as he continued to suck and lick at Cliff's cock.

Cliff put his hand on Scott's head and forced it down as he bucked his hips up, pushing his cock deep into Scott's throat, "Scott, damn Scott, oh yeah," he moaned as he continued to fuck Scott's face hard until he came, spurt after spurt of bittersweet cum flooding Scott's mouth and running down his throat.

Cliff fell back against the seat of the Mustang, panting as he struggled to catch his breath. He turned to face Scott again and kissed him passionately, tongue thrusting into Scott's mouth, he could taste himself and squirmed in excitement as his spent cock twitched and tried to fill again.

Cliff again dove face first into Scott's lap, suckling Scott's balls one at a time. He ran his tongue over each ball and gently teased it with his teeth before finally returning to Scott's hard throbbing dripping red cock. He licked up the underside from base to tip before taking the tip into his mouth and swirling his tongue around it. He then plunged down, taking it deep into his throat as he swallowed and hummed, the vibrations driving Scott wild.

Scott again buried his hand in Cliff's hair, this time pressing Cliff's head down onto his cock as his hips thrust up. It wasn't long before Cliff was accepting the offering Scott's cock gave up as his orgasm hit. Cliff swallowed spurt after spurt of Scott's release, suckling and licking Scott's cock until it finally softened back to its normal state. As Scott rested against the seat of the Mustang, Cliff laid with his head in Scott's lap.

It had been cramped and crowded, a bit uncomfortable at times because of the bucket seats, but it had been damn good.

On the drive home Scott drove left handed, his right hand entwined with Cliff's between the bucket seats. They went straight to Scott's house, and as he parked the Mustang in the garage, Scott turned to Cliff. "I told you tonight was special. Welcome home, honey." He grinned.

Cliff officially moved in 3 days later, and Scott's home became their home.

The only piece of furniture in Cliff's apartment that either man had an attachment to was his kitchen table. Scott's kitchen was big enough to accommodate the table, complete with the benches that had been in storage. Cliff's personal items were taken from his apartment, but most of the furniture was left behind.

Cliff walked around Scott's, their, house, amazed that he lived here now as he found places for his personal items. When he first met Scott, he had questioned why the man needed such a big house. Now he knew that Scott, like Cliff, hoped to raise a family someday. He had bought the house in anticipation of that likelihood. Cliff looked around one of the spare bedrooms and thought about Scott's childhood, mostly spent living in group and foster homes. Cliff knew they wouldn't be ready for children for a while yet, but he wondered if Scott would want children from their own DNA, or if he wanted to foster or adopt children like he had once been. Cliff wondered if he and Scott would even qualify for adoption.

---

It was mid-November, and holidays were fast approaching. They would be having dinner on Thanksgiving here at their home for Scott's parents, his uncle, and a few close friends. Cliff had invited Tom, his friend from High School who was currently in California for work. He also invited his parents down from Montana, and his friend Jo and her family. Jo had declined; she had plans with her in-laws. Tom was happy for the invite; he didn't want to go back to Montana and didn't want to be alone at Thanksgiving. Cliff's parents missed him, but were not able to come down. They made plans to visit at Christmas instead.

Cliff had been employed with The Garage for about 6 weeks, and was very comfortable with his day to day duties. George spent most of his time explaining monthly, quarterly, and yearly obligations that would occur after his retirement. Scott was happier and more laid back. He laughed and smiled more; he chatted with the staff and tended more toward mentoring and suggestions than orders and commands as he had used before.

About the only one who wasn't thrilled with Cliff working there was Mike, the kitten. The poor kitten couldn't decide who he liked to be around more and spent his day running back and forth between Cliff's office and Scott's office.

George decided to retire at Thanksgiving. Cliff had pushed himself hard, feeling the need to prove that he earned the job and wasn't just hired because his fiancé owned the company. Because of his determination, Cliff actually found several areas in bookkeeping where expenses could be cut without compromising the quality of work. George was quite impressed.

One Tuesday, the men were entering the building after having gone out to lunch. They were talking about the "Children's Home" fundraiser The Garage conducted. In several areas throughout the garages were jars to collect funds to donate to the local Children's Home, the same home Scott would have grown up in if it hadn't been for Frank and Louise Edwards. The garage raised funds through the year. There would be a big push for donations in January, and they would present the funds to the Home in early February. In the past they had done things like silent auctions and bake sales. They weren't sure what to do this year. They were discussing possibilities as they walked through the waiting area by Cindy's desk.

"Funny you should be talking about the fundraiser, Scott. That's why I'm here." A lady sitting in the waiting area sadly smiled at him.

"Tina! How are you? It's been a while since I've seen you." Scott replied. Turning to Cliff he said, "This is Tina, she and her husband own the 1970 Chevy Corvette you saw at the car show last April. She's one reason we opened the Learning Center. When her husband wasn't able to work on the restorations anymore she took over. She would book hours in the Self Serve just to sit at the front desk with the mechanic to ask questions about areas of the restoration. It was while watching one of our mechanics interact with her that I came up with the idea of having classes and mechanics specifically to provide instruction."

Turning back to Tina, Scott asked cautiously, "How is Chris?"

Tina's eyes filled with tears as she looked down and shook her head, "He's gone." She whispered.

"Oh, no," Scott replied softly as he moved to hug her. "I am so sorry, Tina."

"He died about a month ago. He requested no funeral, no services; he just wanted to be cremated. We had expected it for the last year; at least it was relatively painless for him." Tina softly said as she stood within Scott's embrace. She sniffled one last time before speaking louder, "We talked about it many times, and I think I have the solution for your fundraiser."

As the trio walked to Scott's office he introduced Tina to Cliff. Cliff offered his condolences on her loss, and she thanked him.

"Chris and I spoke many times about what would happen once he was gone. What I am doing now, we had actually planned to do together, but his health deteriorated so quickly. One day he was relatively healthy, the next he was in the hospital, and two days later he was gone. You know he bought the Corvette shortly after he was diagnosed; he thought having a long term project would help motivate him to fight for his life. We had only been married about a year at that time; he always said I was his biggest motivating factor for living."

Tina sighed, took a deep breath, and then continued, "Anyway, we spent a lot of time here over the 7 years it took to restore that car. We participated in the fundraiser every year. After we finished the car, Chris asked a favor of me. It was easy to grant, I thought it was a great idea."

Scott looked at her, confusion clearly showing on his face. They were sitting in chairs around the small table in his office, and he reached out to hold Cliff's hand. Cliff watched Tina carefully with a thoughtful look on his face as he gently squeezed Scott's hand.

"We both decided what we wanted was to donate the Corvette for you to raffle off, all proceeds to benefit the Children's Home. Chris's idea was to purchase another clunker of a classic car and restore it. The restoration would have gone so much faster this time around. He hoped to be able to show his gratitude to The Garage for the support you all showed me as I was learning by restoring and providing to you a few cars over the next several years for you to raffle for the Children's Home." Tina said all this so quickly, Scott wasn't sure he heard right.

"Tina, did I hear you correctly? You want to give The Garage your fully restored 1970 Chevy Corvette to be raffled off for charity?" Scott was incredulous.

"Yes, it was Chris's fondest wish, we were both going to come to you in late October to let you know, but he was gone by then." Tina replied quietly.

"Are you sure you still want to do this? You worked on that car more than he did, wouldn't you rather keep it or sell it to help pay for his medical expenses?" Scott questioned.

Tina wryly laughed, a harsh, coughing laugh, "You never knew Chris had a rather substantial trust fund. He never lacked for funds, all of his expenses have been covered and I have more than I will be able to spend in a lifetime. I won't keep the car because it has too many memories, and I want to fulfill Chris's final wish."

"Wow," Scott whispered, dumbfounded as he heard this revelation.

"Tina," Cliff stated softly, "We want to thank you, and Chris, for your generous donation. I think Chris had a wonderful idea, and I would be honored to raffle that car off, in your and Chris's name, through The Garage. If you would like, you can help with the details. If there's ever anything The Garage can do for you, please don't hesitate to let Scott or I know."

Scott mutely nodded his agreement with Cliff's statement, and squeezed his hand.

Tina smiled gratefully at Cliff, thankful he was able to grasp their vision and was willing to see it through. They chatted a few minutes about the details, and then both Cliff and Scott walked her to the reception area where they both hugged her goodbye.

The following Wednesday night, Cliff was moody and tense at home. Scott asked Cliff what was wrong, and he put off answering. Scott knew that Cliff was mentally pushing himself to the limit at work. He loved that Cliff was already so committed to The Garage, and told him so. He tried to relax Cliff, assuring him that he was doing a great job; he had already made positive changes to the company's budget and profit margin; and Uncle George wasn't going anywhere, he wouldn't mind coming in even after he officially retired to answer any questions Cliff had.

Scott led Cliff up to the bedroom where he stripped him. The lovers took a hot shower together where Scott washed Cliff from head to toe, and then dried him and laid him down on the bed on his stomach. He quickly warmed some almond scented oil in the microwave and returned to the bedroom, turning the stereo on low so soft classical music filled the room.