Page 109 of Sliding into Love
I sigh, dreading telling the story. Not because I feel like it'll take me back to that time. It’s more because I know he’s going to feel some sort of guilt, when it doesn’t have anything to do with him. Not really.
“Things with Clark were rougher than I let others see. When you weren’t around, his taunts were often accompanied by physical violence. Senior year, he somehow managed to find out my locker combinations, and he memorized the path I took to my classes. He went after me almost nonstop. I reached a point where I simply didn’t want to deal with him anymore.”
Kenny drops my hand and steps back. His wide eyes roam over my body with a pained expression.
“How can you even be near me right now? If the person I was around, the one I didn’t stick up to, led you to almost?—“
“Hey, hey!” I shout, pulling his attention back to me. “I’m here. I’m alive. Clark is a bad memory, yes, but you’re not him. And you’ve proven you’ve more than changed from that time. I wouldn’t be living with you, fucking you, or building a life with you if you weren’t. Understand?”
“No, I really fucking don’t. I want to rage and scream. Break down every fucking wall in this place until this panic and fear and rage leaves me. I almost lost you before I ever had you.”
I’m moving before I truly think it through. Wrapping my arms around him, I latch on with a fierce grip.
“Listen here, Little Menace. I’m not going to repeat myself. You listening?” He nods. “Good! Now then, here are the facts: I had a rough go of it in my youth. Being different in a town like Bellport left me open to bad things, but I wouldn’t change a minute of it. My experiences helped me grow. They showed me a new side to life. Now I help hundreds of people escape bad situations all over the country. And none of that would have happened had I not wound up in Bellport General, undergone intensive therapy, and decided to become a fucking vigilante of sorts to help those in need.”
He sniffs as he buries his face in my shoulder. His voice comes out mumbled when he finally speaks.
“Can we at least hunt down Clark and make his life hell?”
“Oh, Kenny baby. My family already ensured he’d never know a moment of peace once they got the truth out of me. I haven’t checked on him lately, but I have no doubt Clark Greer is having the day he deserves.”
I won’t dare go into detail, though I know the truth. Clark works at a service station down a long strip of highway in the desert. He lives alone in an RV and doesn’t even so much as have a pet. Anytime he’s tried to improve his life, my family has interfered. Eventually, he gave up trying. It’s petty and mean, but the Bellports always stick up for their own.
My little menace chuckles, pulling me back to the present. “Not that I’m not happy you’ve shared this with me, but can I ask why now? Who are these people that are coming?”
“Carver, who you might remember from the call that shifted things for us. His boy is Gideon. When the pair met, it wasbecause Gideon had been held captive by a heinous woman who ran a skin trade. Carver helped take her down, then he took Gideon in. Normally the boy would have come to me, but Carver knew there was more to his story. After things settled, I went to meet Gideon to show him gender wasn’t a one size fits all. We’ve kept in touch ever since. They’ve always been welcome to visit, though this is the first time.”
Kenny turns his face, pressing a kiss to my neck. My cock hardens so fast I worry I’ll faint from the shift.
“Does that mean you’re some kind of cupid? Helping people fall in love and stuff.”
“Not cupid,” I argue. “I believe these two would have found each other no matter what.”
“Like how we did.”
“Yeah, Little Menace. Exactly like us.”
The sound of Carver’s motorcycle announces their arrival. I throw the door to our home—the one we moved into last month—open to greet him. Gideon is already off the bike, and the second he sees me, he comes running.
I’m hit with a hundred-some-odd pounds of eager young man before I manage to speak. Laughing, I swing him around in a circle like I used to do Jake when he was little. Gideon giggles, just as I hoped he would.
“Your Majesty?” Kenny calls from behind me.
Gideon yanks free at the sound. He leans around me, eyes wide as he takes in my partner. “Is this them?”
I nod. “Gideon, this is Kenny. Little Menace, this is Gideon. The big hulking giant approaching is Carver.”
“Nice to meet you both,” he tells them, though the stiffness in his shoulders tells me he’s not happy about it. My man is clearly jealous.
Rolling my eyes, I climb the steps to get to him. He opens his mouth as if to ask what I’m doing, but I cut him off by yanking him into a deep kiss. I’m talking it’s the kind where hands wander and clothes typically come off.
Carver whistles after a few seconds. “Ease up on the porn. My boy doesn’t need to see you two get freaky. We came to visit, not be voyeurs.”
I pull away laughing. “Better now, Kenny baby? There’s nothing between me and Gideon other than friendship. I’m like a big sibling or a mentor. He’s only got eyes for Carver.”
Tipping my head at the couple has Kenny’s gaze moving to them. It’s then he sees the super obvious heart eyes Gideon is giving to his man. It’s equal parts adorable and nauseating.
“Let’s all get inside. There are too many softie emotions happening out here. What will the neighbors think?” I tease.
