Page 115 of Crave Me

“Who knew you were a romantic at heart?” he teased.

Something settled inside of me then, recognizing that we were coming back to the good relationship we’d had before this revelation had served to undercut it.

“I was very much so. With her. Only her. Sometimes you just meet people who bring out another side of you that you didn’t even realize you had.”

“I know that all too well.”

“I know you do. You and your loves are well matched.”

He smiled and settled in, “Tell me more.”

And I did.

I told him everything, even recalling details about Bianca that I’d thought I’d buried permanently.

It was the first time in decades that I’d spoken of her.

I’d always imagined it being far too painful to do so.

But here, doing so with my son, that was transcended by him.

Hell, the moment I’d reached out to him and actually made contact, it had transcended everything, reframed everything.

After all these years, here we were together with the truth revealed.

I’d thought he’d be lost to me forever, always having to be at a distance to him.

But now the universe had made it possible for us to be a part of each other’s lives.

My son.

24

~Sebastian~

“She’s got one hell of a dirty mouth.”

I looked up at Damien as I made it to my sixtieth push-up. “Are you talking by your standards, or in just a surprising way because of the whole sunshine innocence thing she’s got going on?”

“By your standards, Seb. Even Cal’s actually.”

“Damn, that’s unexpected. In a great way for you, right? It meshes well with how you are.”

“It does, yeah. I mean, I was trying to take it easy and keep it toned down, but she wouldn’t have it. She kind of pushed it along—a lot.”

“Hmm.”

“What?”

I finished my push-ups, then shifted onto my ass, leaning back on my hands and watching him pacing up and down, his white gold tiger hoodie open and swooshing about him with his erratic movements. “You like her taking the lead.”

He started at my observation, then frowned and thought on it for several moments. “Shit, maybe I do.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s probably exactly what you need with you so worried about screwing things up and all that.”

“Yeah,” he answered, a pensive expression clouding his features. “It’s good. It’s all good.”

“So, what kind of dirty talk?”

---