Page 6 of Silent Verity

I rested my chin on his float. “I know.”

He lifted his blunt to his lips, inhaling and letting the smoke settle in his lungs for a bit before he slowly blew the smoke from between his pink lips. “She wanted money.” I hummed, letting him get it out, so fucking grateful he still thought I was a safe space. I had no idea what’d changed between us during the past few months, but him opening up to me meant he still needed me.

And fuck, I needed him to need me.

“I tried to tell her no.” He looked at me. “I swear, I did, Dalton.” I nodded because I believed him. He always tried. “But then she called me a mistake, told me she should have aborted me.” My chest tightened, agony sliding through my veins for the broken man in front of me. “I agreed to give her money just to get off the phone with her and so she wouldn’t call me back.”

“You’re not a mistake,” I told him, my voice strong and steady. “And I’m so fucking glad she didn’t abort you, Jesse. Life would be dull as fuck without you.”

He sighed. “I’m so fucking tired, Dalton.” He tapped his finger to his temple. “Tired here.”

I stood back up straight, leaning over him a little. He looked up at me when I blocked the sun from his face. “Want to rest?” I asked quietly. The question was our go-to when he needed to just let his brain shut off, but he didn’t want the other guys knowing how bad things had gotten for him.

His throat bobbed, and slowly, he nodded. “Please,” he begged.

I ran my hand over his hair just like I used to, and he closed his eyes, his chest rattling with his shaky inhale. “Put that out, then go shower the pool off of you. Meet me in my room after.”

When he nodded in agreement, I moved away and headed toward the side of the pool. I could feel his eyes on me as I lifted myself out of the water, but I just tugged my jeans on over my soaked boxers and snatched my shirt up before heading inside to my room.

I didn’t know how to fix Jesse, but damn if I wouldn’t at least try.

5

Dalton

I sucked in a ragged breath, a shiver rolling down my spine as I tightened my fist around my cock. Knowing I was going to have Jesse back in my bed, my body curled around his, had made me so fucking horny, I could barely think straight. It was a miracle he hadn’t seen my dick standing proud and at attention when I’d gotten out of the pool.

The moment I’d undressed and gotten into the shower, I’d fisted myself, desperate to get off. Not only to relieve the aching pressure in my balls but to also make sure I didn’t accidentally scare Jesse off by my dick pressing against his perky little ass.

And fuuuck, his ass was perfect. Just round enough for me to grip. Jesse was lanky with slightly defined muscles, but his mother—the bitch that she was—had gifted him with one thing besides a fuck ton of trauma.

That ass.

Groaning, I thunked my forehead against the wall, my hand moving faster over my length. My orgasm was drawing closer and closer as I imagined Jesse’s perfect body in my mind. I’d seen him half naked more times than I could count, and fuck, the mental image of having him beneath me, a soft smile playing at his lips as I eased inside of him…

“Fuck,” I snarled, my cum painting the tiles in front of me. My thighs trembled as I struggled to draw air into my lungs. I turned and sagged back against the wall, my heart slamming against my chest bone.

This used to never be an issue for me. I used to cuddle Jesse all the time and be able to keep my body under control. But I guessed denying myself of the one man in this world I wanted was pure torture. It didn’t help that I was demisexual and I’d latched onto him with a narrow-minded focus.

Pushing off the wall, I quickly washed my hair and bathed, then shut the water off and stepped out of the shower. After drying off, I headed into my room and tugged on a pair of sweatpants, not bothering with boxers because I hated lying in bed with them on. They got all twisted, and it just annoyed the shit out of me.

A light knock sounded on my bedroom door. Drawing in a deep breath to prepare myself for having Jesse in my space again, I walked over and swung it open. Jesse was dressed in black sweats and a long-sleeve black shirt I vaguely recognized as one of my shirts that went missing shortly before we moved. My heart fucking melted. Did that shirt mean he had actually missed me? Was Salem right and we just weren’t communicating properly?

“Hey,” I rasped. I cleared my throat, then stepped back, letting him inside. After shutting my door, I padded barefoot over to my bed, trying not to be weird about this. I wanted this to be normal. We used to cuddle all the time and even fall asleep in the same bed. This was nothing new for us. The only difference was that we just hadn’t done this in quite a few months.

Too many fucking months, really.

Pulling the blankets back on my bed, I slid beneath them, then patted the spot beside me when Jesse continued to stand near the door. “Come on,” I encouraged, letting a small smile tilt my lips. “The movie’s not going to watch itself.”

He walked around my bed to the other side, then slid under the blankets beside me. I opened my arm to him, and he hesitated so long, I thought he was going to reject me. But then, he moved closer, pressing into my side and resting his head on my shoulder. Wrapping my arm around him, I quietly sighed.

This felt right. Fuck, it was right. We should have never fucking been apart.

Grabbing the remote off my nightstand, I handed it to him. “Find something for us to watch.”

He scrolled through the apps on my TV before finding one that was mostly anime and clicked on it. After another couple of minutes, he picked a show, then set the remote on his lap. He adjusted to get more comfortable, and then, just like old times, we were watching TV while cuddling. And just like when we were younger, I trailed my fingertips up and down his arm, soothing him.

I had no idea how long we sat there for, but after a few episodes, I looked down at him, prepared to ask him what he wanted to eat. But Jesse was asleep, his lips parted the slightest bit. His dark lashes fanned over his cheekbones, and for the first time since we’d moved here, he seemed content. He seemed at peace.

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