The Sweet Life Read online

  “The Sweet Life”

  M/M Gay Romance

  David Horne

  © 2019

  David Horne

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.

  Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/ (courtesy of Jerry Cole).

  This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images and are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.

  Edition v1.00 (2019.07.15)

  http://www.DavidHorneauthor.com

  Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Penny T., RB, JayBee and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Levi

  I stared at my parents as they sat across from me in complete and utter shock. For a moment I wondered if I’d suffered a brain aneurism and was currently hallucinating. It was the only explanation I could think of as to why my parents had just told me to get a… job.

  “Am I hallucinating?” I asked. “Did I fall and hit my head sometime between this morning and now because I can’t honestly believe what you just said was anything other than a hallucination.”

  My father sighed and I took him in for the first time since they’d returned home from their vacation yesterday. His tan looked amazing and I had the sudden urge to plan a trip to the beach. I needed some time away from the city and sandy beaches somewhere like Cape Town or maybe Greece. I’d had a damn good time with some Grecian gods the last time I visited. It sounded a lot better than whatever nonsense my parents had just spewed.

  “Levi, you’re twenty-two years old. Don’t you think it’s time for you to grow up and take on some responsibilities? Your mom and I won’t be around forever, what will you do then?”

  I swallowed past the lump in my throat as I glanced at my mom. I didn’t even want to think about her not being around. The thought was preposterous, and I hated my father for even putting it in my head. But I shook it away. I wasn’t going to let him rattle me. So I cleared my throat and sat up straighter.

  “That’s what trust funds are for,” I said smugly. I was only a year away from being eligible to gain access to my grandfather’s trust fund. I was set for life. My father sighed as if I disappointed him greatly. Which wasn’t much of a surprise. I’d heard my father’s sighs of disappointment for most of my life. The first time was when I was five and he tried to get me into peewee football. I’d gotten my pants dirty and decided I hated all sports. Dad had sighed.

  There were a lot more instances after that, including the day I came out. Now, before you jump to conclusions, let me explain. When I realized I was gay, I thought it was the most magnificent discovery in the world and I wanted to share it with everyone. So I didn’t sit my parents down and give the “I’m gay” speech. No, I had my nanny at the time, buy an ad in the paper where I was dressed in all my pink and glitter glory and announced to the entire city of Scarsdale. Living in one of the wealthiest cities in America, it wasn’t always easy being different. Most people frowned at being different. So when I publicly announced just how different I was, my dad sighed. And not because I was gay but because of how I announced it. He’d wanted the sit-down talk so he and my mom could tell me they loved and supported me. He felt deprived of that and I’d felt bad.

  My father was a man’s man and I had honestly expected him to hate me for being gay. But he didn’t. My dad was amazing about my sexuality. He and my mom joined PFLAG and there was a bright, rainbow flag that they adorned proudly on our front porch. They loved me. Honest to God, loved me with all they had, and I knew I was lucky to have them but the shit they’d just said made me question everything!

  “I can’t get a job,” I said as if the word was a disease. “Dad, I’ve never worked a day in my life. How do you expect me to just go out and get one?” I felt I was making sense, but my parents however didn’t seem to be budging.

  “I understand how this all might seem a bit scary but sweetheart you need to do this. Not only for us but for yourself. I know we’re to blame because we spoiled you. You are our little miracle baby…” Mom said before she cleared her throat. “But you aren’t a baby anymore Levi. You’re a grown man and we’ve spoiled you long enough. During our trip we met some of the hardest working kids I’d ever seen in my life. Sixteen, seventeen-year-old kids building homes and shelters for the less fortunate. Volunteering their free time just because they wanted too. These kids had nothing to gain and yet they did it out of the kindness of their hearts. They were in school and working to provide for themselves and their families. It got me to thinking how much we failed you as a person.”

  Her words caused my back to stiffen. I didn’t think I was a bad person and I didn’t realize my mother thought I was a bad person. Or that she felt responsible for me being the way that I am. I didn’t know what expression my face held but she sighed and shook her head.

  “I love you Levi. With every fiber of my being, I do, but we did fail you. We didn’t teach you the fundamentals of being a hardworking member of society. We never forced you to earn anything, or how to value a dollar. That’s on us. We’re not saying anything is wrong with you Levi, we just want you to learn some responsibility. So we’ve done some of the groundwork for you.”

  I didn’t like the sound of that at all. If they already picked a job out for me then it was likely something I was going to hate. They wanted me to earn the value of a dollar and I had a strong feeling I wasn’t going to earn it doing something easy. No, I saw sweat involved and the only time I liked to sweat was when I was getting plowed by the gardener. My parents didn’t need to know all of that though, did they?

  Dad cleared his throat and my eyes once again went to him. He met my gaze and I knew there was no talking my way out of this. When Dad wore his stern face, I knew he wasn’t joking around, and the stern face was planted firmly.

  “A friend of ours has a son who owns a bakery,” Dad began, and I let out a sharp gasp. Dad rolled his eyes as Mom fought back a smile.

  “Carbs! You want me to work in a place full of carbs? Dad, you know my weakness for sugar sweetness and pastries! Do you want me to gain five hundred pounds and end up
on an episode of some reality show?”

  Mom turned her head to hide her laugh while my dad looked to the ceiling as if asking the heavens for an intervention. He thought I was being exasperating when I was deathly serious.

  When I was fourteen years old, I’d gone through a “phase.” This “phase” was I wanted nothing but bread, pasta, cheese and all things sweet. I’d spent an entire summer stuffing my face with donuts and cupcakes. My parents had tried to stop it, but I’d sneak things when they were away. My nanny at the time had been a softy and all I had to do was pretend I was starving, and she’d make me lasagna.

  I’d gotten very heavy after that and it wasn’t until I returned to school and was teased for being “porky” did I calm down. My mom helped me change my eating habits and I started being more active. The weight dropped by the end of the next summer but ever since then I’d had an aversion to carbs.

  “You’re not fourteen anymore. I’m sure you can control yourself a little bit better now, don’t you think?” Dad said and I rolled my eyes.

  “And what if I don’t agree to this,” I said defiantly, and it was my mom who sighed this time. She was usually the softer one out of my parents. She hated saying no to me and I felt a little bad to admit that I often played on that. I didn’t think it would work this time though. This was the most serious that I’d ever seen her.

  “If you refuse or if you can’t keep your job for ninety days, we’re taking your trust fund and donating it to charity.”

  I gasped as if they’d just threatened to chop my cock off. Both of my parents rolled their eyes then.

  “You guys can’t be serious! Grandpa left that trust for me,” I said indignantly.

  “Yes, he did. But he also left me as the beneficiary of your trust to do with it what I pleased,” Dad countered, and I knew I was beaten. I sank back into my seat as the world came crumbling down around me. Okay, I was being dramatic ass fuck, but it’s what it felt like to a spoiled and entitled twenty-two-year-old, man-boy.

  “Why do you hate me?” I grumbled which set off another round of sighs from both my parents. I’d set a new record for the amount of times I’d made them sigh in a day.

  “We’re doing this because we love you. We want you to learn some discipline, some structure. This will be good for you Levi. You know we’d never make you do anything to intentionally hurt you. This isn’t to punish you. It’s to help you.”

  I didn’t meet my mother’s gaze because I knew she’d be flashing me the soft eyes. The ones that would always make me grumble “okay” and do whatever it was she asked of me. In all honesty, I’d do anything for my mother. She was the best mother a little gay boy could ask for and I loved her dearly. If she felt sending me to work at some carb-loaded bakery was going to be best for me, then I had no choice but to believe her.

  I tried to think of the positives of working at a bakery. After five minutes of wracking my brain I couldn’t find one. This was going to be such a pain in the ass.

  “Levi,” Mom said softly, and I finally met her gaze. And I was right, the soft eyes were on a whole other level and I groaned before I pouted and grumbled, “Okay.”

  Mom beamed and Dad sighed a sigh of relief. I liked that sigh better.

  “You start tomorrow morning. Jaxon will be expecting you at seven sharp.”

  My eyes nearly bugged out of my head. I was never away before ten and they expected me to be up early enough to be somewhere by seven in the morning. They had be out of their damn minds!

  I went to argue when Dad said the two magic words, “Trust Fund.”

  I huffed out yet another breath and accepted my fate. “Fine.”

  Chapter Two

  Jaxon

  It was already a quarter after seven and my newest employee was late. I sighed and shook my head as I continued removing the muffins from the oven. When my parents told me a friend’s son needed a job, I’d been iffy about hiring the kid without an interview, but they begged me to take him on. They seemed pretty desperate, so I caved. But the kid was late on his first day and that wasn’t a good look.

  I was just taking the last of the puff pastries out when a knock came at the front door. I glanced at the clock and saw it was fifteen minutes until opening. I figured it was my cashier Ragan but when I went to the door there was a petit man with eyes so vibrantly blue it was like looking into the waters of The Maldives. They were crystalline and the most beautiful set of eyes I’d ever seen. His black hair was pushed away from his face with what I knew had to be some sort of pomade. His skin was a gorgeous olive complexioned and his face was smooth, as if he’d never seen a blemish a day in his life. Pouty, pink lips that were incredibly kissable. He was short, at least six inches shorter than my six foot two frame, but he was fit. I could see his slightly toned arms through his buttoned-up polo.

  I unlocked the door and held it open to greet him.

  “Hey, sorry, we don’t open for another fifteen minutes,” I said, and the guys eyes went wide as he took me in. He had to look up at me to meet my gaze and his eyes were even more stunning up close. They were eyes you could get lost in and I almost did until he spoke.

  “Oh dear, gracious Gods in heaven. Please tell me you aren’t Jaxon.”

  I snapped back to reality and my brows furrowed at his choice of words then confirmed that I was in fact, Jaxon.

  “Fuck me sideways and call me Pumpkin, I can’t believe they’re doing this to me,” he said under his breath but not quietly enough that I couldn’t hear him.

  “That who’s doing what to you?” I said and his eyes came back to meet mine. He studied my face and I watched his fall as if someone had taken his favorite toy away.

  “I’m sorry, I’m late. I’m Levi.”

  His words stunned me stupid. I took in the guy and thought maybe I’d misheard him. I’d been under the impression that Levi was some young, spoiled, rich kid whose parents were trying to straighten him out. This guy seemed to be the same age as me, give or take a few years younger but he was definitely a grown man. He registered the confusion on my face and sighed.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know.” He waved his hands down his body as if presenting a prize on a gameshow. “Why would someone as gorgeous and charming as me need to work in a bakery?” He said bakery as if it were the plague and I immediately felt defensive. I took great pride in my business and it was one of the most well-known bakeries in the country. We got thousands of orders every day which was why I was looking to hire more hands. My business was spreading wide and I needed all the help I could get but I wasn’t desperate enough to hire someone who took my job as a joke.

  “No, I was actually wondering why parents made you sound like a spoiled, pretentious sixteen-year-old kid whose parents were using my bakery as their own version of Scared Straight.”

  Levi looked offended for all of point five seconds before he smirked and said, “Oh honey, Conversion therapy couldn’t scare me straight.” He stared me down as if he expected his words to scare me. He’d be sourly mistaken.

  “Look, I don’t care about any of that. The point is, my parents asked me for a favor on behalf of your parents. Regardless if you’re sixteen or thirty-five, I offered you this job based on the good word of your parents and considering you’re forty-five minutes late on your first day, tells me that their word doesn’t mean much.”

  Levi flinched as if my words had physically hurt to hear. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before he met my gaze again. It was really scary just how gorgeous his eyes were, but I had to remind myself they were attached to a pretentious jerk.

  “I’m sorry, okay. Don’t blame my parents for me being late, it was no fault of theirs. I got… lost,” he said, and a gorgeous pink blush filled his cheeks and I had to bite my lip to fight back the groan. It was a shame he was a jerk because he was fucking stunning.

  “I drove myself here and the damn GPS sent me all over the place,” he said, and I frowned as I looked around. My bakery was in a well-known part of to
wn, it was nearly impossible to miss it. Levi took in my expression and let out a frustrated breath. “Okay, fine. I woke up late and hadn’t had my morning coffee so I was already feeling out of it when I got in the car. I put the wrong address into the GPS and was sent all the way across the city before I realized I was going the wrong way. I was going to call but I’d left my phone on the bathroom counter which almost sent me into a complete meltdown. My life is in that little square demon. Which is why I am late.”

  I rubbed at the back of my neck and sighed heavily. I had a bad feeling about this and every instinct that I had was telling me to send this guy packing but he looked defeated and I wasn’t the type to kick a guy when he was down.

  “All right, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to give you some forms to fill out and then I’ll start you on kitchen duty. I have a back of house crew that works specifically on online and shipping orders. We go through a lot of dishes so we need someone who can be quick and efficient in cleaning them.”

  His eyes widened at the word dishes and it took everything in me not to laugh at his offended expression.

  “How many orders are we talking here? Twenty? Thirty?”

  I did laugh then, and his offended expression turned angry. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said between laughs. I shook my head and pointed to the two buildings next to the bakery.

  “I own those two buildings. One is specifically for boxing and shipping online orders. The other is for catering orders or specialty orders like wedding and birthday cakes. Things like that.” Levi’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. He looked overwhelmed so I eased his mind. “You won’t be working in those areas.”

  His shoulders sagged as if I’d taken a million-ton weight off of his shoulders. Poor guy wasn’t going to last a day.

  “You’ll be in the main kitchen here. We do get about two hundred online orders a day since we deliver to the tri state area. So we make a lot of desserts throughout the day. I’m big on fresh to order so with each order, the items are baked fresh. I would put you on prep but you’re not ready for that. Your job will be making sure the mixing bowls, sheet pans and etcetera are clean and ready to grab for my bakers.”