Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87015 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 435(@200wpm)___ 348(@250wpm)___ 290(@300wpm)
“You what?” I asked, voice shaking. Dad didn’t open up to me this way. He didn’t let me in or share how he felt. While he’d always been family-oriented, he’d been quieter, more subdued in his emotions, even before Mom passed away.
“I’m glad you found someone, is all. I worried that I’d messed up with you somehow. That I wasn’t able to be the father you needed. I know you got a lot of what I struggled to provide from Declan, Marcus, and Corbin, and I feel bad about that. Feel bad that I wasn’t better, but now you have Elliott too. I don’t want you to end up alone like me. I was afraid that because of me, you would.”
“What? No. I… You’re a great dad. Do you know how many queer kids have their parents walk away from them? I never had to worry about that from you. We might be different, you might not share your feelings the way I do, but we’ve always stuck together, and I’ve always known you love me. And if…if I do end up alone, that’s not your fault.” Because it was a very real possibility. Who really ever knew what the future held?
“Elliott—”
“Nothing is guaranteed, Dad.” He nodded. Both of us were quiet for a moment as if we didn’t know what to say. “I love you,” was what I finally settled on.
He smiled. “I love you too, son. Even if you did bring home a Raiders fan.” We laughed, and he hugged me. Usually, it was the other way around, me pulling him into my arms first, but this time it was Dad.
I closed my eyes, thankful for this moment and knowing it was because of my marriage to Elliott.
* * *
“You good?” Elliott asked as we drove home.
“You’re always asking me that.” I didn’t say it in an annoyed way, just an observation. How I was doing and how I felt seemed important to Elliott. Well, I was sure it wasn’t just me he was like that with. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how caring he was.
“Yes. I know. It’s…unfamiliar to me.”
“I doubt that.”
“No, it is. Mostly I think about myself.”
I laughed, knowing what he said wasn’t true. “And yeah, I’m really good actually.” I told him what happened with my dad when we were outside. How unexpected it was and how much I’d needed to hear those things from him. “Strangely enough, I have you to thank for it. When we divorce, I’ll have to figure that part out, but for now, I think this—us—somehow gave my dad something he needed.”
“You can make me the bad guy.”
“What? I’m not doing that.” It was the last thing Elliott deserved. “We’ll figure it out together like we have everything else.”
“We’re killin’ this whole being-married thing.”
“Right?” We were, weren’t we? “It’ll help that we’ll stay friends…we realized we’re not in love and we’re better off as friends.” The words felt heavy for some reason, sticky, like they didn’t want to come apart or come out. “Anyway, we don’t need to talk about that right now. This night was perfect.”
“Just like you,” he said, making me grin. I didn’t really think Elliott believed that about me. I had flaws like nobody’s business, but I still liked hearing it.
“Do I still get my reward?” I tested the waters.
“You do. You were so good tonight, of course you’ll get it.”
I pressed my foot on the gas pedal. Elliott laughed.
We laughed again together as we raced for the door, hurrying inside. The second it was closed, he went to his knees and drained my balls just as he’d promised, praising me every time he pulled off my cock.
When I sucked him off afterward, I might have told him he was a little great too.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Elliott
My day at work had been crazy. I’d had meeting after meeting, trying to make sure every community in the city had everything it needed, which was basically impossible. Right now, I was working on how to get more public facilities, as well as zoning for a park in a low-income area in Baldwin Hills. It felt like every time I thought I made headway, I hit a brick wall, so by the time my workday finished, I was anxious to meet up with Vaughn.
“Where’s your husband tonight?” Vaughn asked, sliding into the booth seat across from me.
“Maybe he’s at home,” I answered, though I knew he wasn’t.
It had been a few weeks since our dinner with his dad, and Parker and I had spent quite a bit of time together, whether at home or going out. The more we hung out, the more I enjoyed him and the more I wanted to be with him. It’s because he’s hot and funny, I told myself. We were becoming friends—actually, we already had. Vaughn had been giving me shit, joking about the old ball and chain and dumb stuff like that.