Page 24 of Holding On to a Hero
“Me too.” I concurred.
“I know. I mean, I know it intellectually, but my therapist is still trying to beat it into my gut.”
I looked Will in the eyes. “Well, like I said earlier, you’re not the only one with baggage around here. But is that the big secret that’s supposed to make us run away screaming?”
He smiled sadly. “Yeah, that and the scarred-up mess all over my back.”
Jason made a face. “Ouch. I bet all that wood really tore up your skin.”
“Yeah. It’s not pretty. I don’t…I haven’t…uh…. No one’s seen….” He trailed off.
I straightened up as I realized what he was trying to say. “No one’s seen your back? Not since the accident?”
“Well, my sister. But she doesn’t really count.”
Jason hugged Will and rubbed his hand up and down Will’s back. “Will, your scars are part of you, part of your story. We’re not going to be turned off by them.”
“No shit,” I added. Not eloquent, but it got Will to chuckle. “You’re a sexy man, Will. A few scars aren’t going to change that.”
“It’s easy for you to say, Cole. You’re…you. Perfect.” His hands were still trapped by ours, but he used his head to make an up-and-down gesture at my body.
“Trust me, the outside might be pretty, but the inside needs a lot of work. And there have been many, many times I’ve wished profoundly to look different. Ordinary. Even scarred. I’m not trying to make light of your trauma,” I hastened to assure him. “But I hate being treated like a piece of meat. I’ve been dreaming of this retirement for the last ten years.” Sometimes I couldn’t believe I was only 37 years old. “It took Jason here to give me the shove to finally make it a reality.” I lifted the hand I’d been holding and kissed Will’s knuckles. “And meeting you is one of the most exciting things to happen since Jason and I moved to Texas.”
“I’ll second that,” Jason purred as he leaned in to catch Will’s mouth with his own. I watched hungrily as Jason thrust his tongue inside. So fucking hot. When Jason and I had fantasized about having a third person with us, I’d mostly focused on what the three of us would do together. I hadn’t known how arousing it would be to watch Jason, the man I’d been exclusive with for years, kissing Will. I couldn’t wait to see them naked together.
I kept busy running my teeth and tongue along Will’s neck. He made some lovely whining noises. I made my way up to Will’s jaw, then I pressed my tongue into the seam where Jason’s lips met Will’s. Three-way kisses turned out to be more awkward than I’d anticipated, but the thrill of three tongues and three sets of lips meeting in a hot frenzy more than made up for our unpracticed clumsiness.
We made out on the couch for a little while longer, but all too soon Will pulled back.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just, this has been a lot to process and I don’t think I’m ready to take things any further tonight.”
Jason and I both assured him we understood and we didn’t want to rush him. He stood up and we walked him out to his truck.
“When can we see you again, Will?” Jason could always be counted on to make sure we had a plan.
Will smiled at the question. Good, we hadn’t scared him off. “Tomorrow’s what, Friday? I have to watch Abigail tomorrow night, but I’m free Saturday or Sunday.”
We agreed Will would come back Saturday evening and plan to stay over. I couldn’t wait.
Will kissed us each one more time before he got into the truck. “Damn, it’s going to be a long drive home.”
I smirked. “You know Jason and I will have already gotten each other off before you reach the highway.”
“Fuck.”
Jason made ahmmmnoise. “Maybe we should send Will a picture so he has something to think about until Saturday?”
“Oooh, yes, let’s do that,” I agreed.
“Holy shit,” Will said faintly. I laughed as I gently pushed his door shut. Jason and I stepped back and Will slowly put the truck in gear, backed up and headed down the driveway.
Chapter Seventeen
Will
I heard the text message chime as I exited onto Mopac. I desperately wanted to open it as soon as I pulled into the driveway to see if it was the promised photo, but I didn’t dare. The living room light was on, which meant Ally was probably napping on the couch so she could interrogate me about my date. If I’d received a photo, I wanted to be able to, shall we say, take my time with it.
Don’t get me wrong, I was still having trouble wrapping my head around Cole and Jason wanting to date me. The self-sabotaging part of my brain kept reminding me that I was convenient, the only single gay man who knew their secret. But the hopeful part of my brain was trying to take them at their word, that they actually were attracted to me and were choosing me to spend time with. By the time I’d gotten home I’d managed to give optimism the upper hand and had resolved to stay positive through our date on Saturday.
