Page 73 of Pippin & Nacho

He breathed out a long sigh. “What if they have another family with other kids they want and just didn’t want me at all? That would be the worst, I think.”

I could imagine. My own parents were horrible, and I really hoped they didn’t have more kids after me. As I grew up in foster care, I never once wanted to go back to them, no matter how bad it had gotten. It was still better than conversion therapy. Hell, Nate and I survived the streets, which was better than that. All that fear was too much.

“Do you wonder about your parents?” he asked, as if reading my mind.

“No. I don’t care about them.”

“Good. Abusers do not deserve our love or regrets. Their failings are not our fault.”

“Thank you for that.”

“I know how you are, Sam, always internalizing everyone else’s issues.”

I loved how Nate gave me validation. “If you ever want to find your parents, I’ll go with you and help you.”

“Thank you, baby. I love you for that. And thank you for taking care of me. You’ve been fucking amazing.”

I rolled over onto my back and rubbed my face. “God, I’ve been fucking up so much. I forget things all the time. The apartment was getting really messy, so I’d start to clean it before I came across something interesting, distracting me. Then I’d forget to finish cleaning. I also forgot to go grocery shopping once and only remembered when I realized I hadn’t fed you… I’m just a mess.”

“Stop it. You’ve been the best.”

“Only because I had to get help. But Alpha set me up with this cool app that helps me keep track of tasks and has alarms. It’s helped. I’ve been writing tons of notes, too. The apartment is covered in them.”

His smile was broad. “Killing trees one note at a time, eh?”

I snorted a laugh. “You could say that.”

“Hey, whatever works for you, Sam. I’m just telling you what I see on my end. I don’t see you struggling, but helping me when I’m at my worst. I’m going to say it again. You’re fucking amazing, baby, and there’s nothing wrong with asking for help.”

I didn’t feel amazing, and I rarely saw what Nate saw in me, but he wouldn’t lie to me either.

“I’ll take your word for it.”

“Good, that’s all I ask. Trust me.”

My stretch was long and hard, untangling knots in my muscles I was too young for, the drawback of being bedridden for so long. I was twenty-one going on fifty-one, or so it felt. Except that I woke up with morning wood. It had been a while since I did that. Pain and the meds had killed my libido.

With my eyes still closed, I rubbed my cock and thrust a little at my palm. I hadn’t intended to jack off with Sam sleeping next to me, but I just needed some friction before I got up to take a piss.

As I continued to pump myself languidly, my eyes popped open when a hand suddenly grasped mine and tossed it off my dick.

“Mine,” Sam said. “Fuck if you’re going to play with yourself. I’ve been waiting for weeks to have you. I get dibs, not your fucking hand.”

I snorted a laugh, but his hovering over me and ripping my underwear off and over my cast, growling, quickly sobered me up. He fucking growled at me. My dick pulsed at the sound. I’d never seen him so aggressive before.

“Whoa there, tiger…” I laughed again.

“Tiger this.” He flipped me the fucking bird, making me laugh harder. God, it felt good. The best way to wake up.

He stood, quickly stripped off his clothes and sat between my legs, grabbing my cock at the base. He tugged on it a few times, practically drooling as he looked at it. “I know this isn’t like me, but fuck… I’ve been dying for this dick. Do you have any idea how hard it is to touch you and sleep next to you without actually having you?”

Said dick pulsed and throbbed at his words. I loved this side of Sam. “Yes, every day when we were only friends.”

He eyed me with steel green eyes. “Truth.” He looked back down at my cock. “Shit, look at you leak. Hot.”

His tongue swiped over my tip, and my back arched off the bed. “Fuck!”

“So good… I miss your taste.”

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