Page 51 of Better When Shared
For several long moments, we stood there, breathing hard, bodies still pressed together, unwilling to break the connection. Reality hovered just beyond the locked door—my flight tomorrow, the complicated tangle of feelings I still couldn't articulate, the fact that Nisha was waiting for us.
"Fuck," Julian finally sighed, pressing his forehead against mine. "That was..."
"Yeah," I agreed, throat tight with everything I couldn't say.
We separated reluctantly, using hand towels from the rack to clean ourselves. The silence between us was comfortable but charged with unspoken words. As we dressed, stealing glances at each other, I wondered if he could read the truth in my eyes—that leaving him the first time had nearly broken me, and leaving again might finish the job.
"So," Julian said, adjusting his glasses as I zipped up my bag. "This week has been... educational.”
I laughed despite myself. "Educational? That's what we're calling it?"
His lips quirked up. "Fine. Life-changing, then." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I think I might be bisexual. Or something.”
The casual way he said it, like he was commenting on the weather, made something warm unfurl in my chest. "You think?"
"Shut up," he snorted, shoving my shoulder. "This is new territory for me."
I shook my head, smiling despite the ache in my chest. "I always was. Bisexual, I mean."
Julian's eyebrows shot up. "Always? Even in college?"
The question dangled dangerously close to the truth I'd kept buried—the real reason I'd severed our friendship, run across an ocean to escape feelings I wasn't ready to face.
"Yeah," I said carefully. "Even then."
“You’re really a top? With the way you keep asking me to throat fuck you…"
“I have a bit of an oral fixation. With women, too. But with men, I don’t know. I’ve bottomed, and it’s fine, but I don’t get off on it the way some guys do. Somehow, I think you’ll be one of those guys.”
He studied me for a moment, and I could see more questions forming behind his eyes—why hadn't I said anything? Had there been men in our college days that he didn't know about? Why had I really disappeared from his life? But instead of asking, he just nodded, accepting the crumb of truth I'd offered.
"Oral fixation. I suppose that explains why you’re so damn good at sucking cock,” he murmured. “And eating pussy.”
I burst out laughing. “At least I know you’ll both miss my mouth.”
He leaned in for a hard kiss. “We’ll miss all of you, Caleb. But we should get going. Nisha's walking over here now so we can grab some lunch next door."
We exited the studio, blinking in the bright midday sun. Nisha stood across the street, waiting at an intersection for the light to turn. When she spotted us, her face lit up with a knowing smile that made heat crawl up my neck.
"Well, well," she called as we approached, eyes dancing with mischief. "You two look thoroughly debauched."
Julian laughed, pulling her in for a quick kiss. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
She rolled her eyes, reaching up to smooth his still-disheveled hair. "Please. You both have that glazed, just-got-each-other-off look. And Caleb’s shirt is on inside out."
“Fuck,” I groaned, looking down at my t-shirt.
Her gaze shifted to me, warm and approving. "Good session?"
I couldn't help but laugh at her directness, at the easy way she accepted what had happened between her husband and me. "Very... enlightening."
"I bet," she beamed up at me, hooking her arms through both of ours and kissing my cheek. “I can’t believe you’re leaving, it feels too soon. But I suppose it’ll always feel too soon, won’t it? When we want you around so much.”
I couldn’t have said it better.
Chapter 8
Nisha
